We are all aware that bread is being thrown away to an immense extent. To give some facts and figures I did a quick search on the internet and was blown away when I learned that it is 1.7 million tons of bread each year which are thrown away only in Germany. Problem is, we all think that it is just us who are throwing a few slices here and there. But it exponentiates.

Finding a new way to use leftover bread always makes me happy. I moved from Berlin to Munich two years ago and here you can get “Knödelbrot” (dumpling bread) packaged in plastic bags in nearly every supermarket. I never paid much attention to it until I participated in a dumpling cookery course. The Slow Food Convivium in Munich organised a course at the guest house Alte Bergmühle in Fischbachau, close to the mountains. Michaela Schmitz Guggenbichler who runs the guest house with her family, organises several courses a week and also self-published a cookbook with a wide variety of dumpling recipes. Sweet, savoury, as an addition to soup, made out of maize, potato…and leftover bread.

My Austrian grandmother always cut leftover bread into cubes, then dried them and used it for Semmelknödel (bread dumplings). They are usually served as a side to a meat dish with gravy. In Bavaria they usually slice stale bread very thinly. You can use the stale bread or leave it to dry and use it later. If you decide to keep it for later, it is important to let it dry completely to get rid of any moisture. Otherwise it is likely to grow mould when you store it in a container.

Coming back to the cookery course. I was fascinated of all the ways leftover bread can be used in a variety of dumplings. We made spinach dumplings with a piece of feta in the centre and Kaspressknödel (pressed cheese dumplings), both using thinly sliced leftover bread as the main ingredient. Michaela has many more recipes in her self-published cookbook she is selling at her guest house. It’s only available in German but a worthwhile investment and with online translation tools I don’t see how a passionate cook should be held back to investigate this further. I wish these kind of dumplings would be more widely known, it is a perfect way to use leftover bread. The first dumplings I tried were the Kaspressknödel. I had a stale baguette and a couple of old pretzels which I sliced thinly and then followed the method. The recipe is generally a great starter kit that can be built upon. Add herbs, use different cheeses, different types of bread. Some may call it blasphemy because it won’t be an original Kaspressknödel, but recipes never evolved out of purism.

And I urge you: next time you have a bit of stale bread, don’t throw it! Slice it thinly and either make the recipe below immediately or leave to dry, spread out on a baking tray (you can even dry them in a low oven to speed things up) and store until needed. Try them once and you will never even think of throwing away bread.

Kaspressknödel (fried cheese dumplings)

• 500 g stale bread, sliced thinly

• 3 eggs, slightly beaten

• 0.5 l milk

• 150 g Emmenthal or similar cheese, grated

• 50 g Munster, Reblochon, Taleggio or similar strong soft cheese, cubed

• salt, pepper, nutmeg

• oil for frying

• 1 onion, finely diced

Heat the milk. Place the bread in a large bowl and pour over the heated milk. Let soak for several minutes. Add the eggs followed by the cheeses. Sweat the onion in the oil and add to the dumpling mix. Season to taste. Knead the mixture thoroughly and form small patties roughly the size of a burger. It helps to wet your hands before to avoid the mixture sticking to your fingers.

Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat and add the flat patties. Fry on both sides until golden brown. Serve with a salad or sauerkraut if you want a more hearty meal.

This recipe was adapted from “A runde Sach” - Michaelas kleine Knödelkochschule by Michaela Schmitz-Guggenbichler (self-published; available here: https://www.bergmuehle-fischbachau.de/deutsch/buchbestellung/)