The chef and food writer Trine Hahnemann grew up on øllebrød, a traditional Danish rye bread porridge. Her mother would save old rye bread, dry it out to preserve it, then use it in this breakfast staple by soaking it in beer overnight. “Øllebrød comes from a food culture where all kinds of porridges are made from all the grains available, including leftover bread,” Hahnemann says. “In the UK, you have bread-and-butter pudding, but all our stale bread goes into porridge.”
Before freezers, people would dry out excess bread so it would keep for a very long time, and it’s still my favourite way to preserve bread: cut up any stale rye bread into cubes and leave them to dry out in a cloth bag or bowl covered with a tea towel. Once completely dry, store in a jar or sealed container for a year or more.
