Chefs share the best and worst things to make with bread

Chef Diana Yin, restaurant consultant and baker at Swan Bread in Los Angeles, told Insider that panzanella salad is one of her favorite bread recipes.

"Panzanella salad is a delicious bread recipe," said Yin. "I like to take hand-torn chunks of bread, gently toast them, and then toss them with my favorite salad vegetables."

Believed to have Italian roots, a simple version of this salad includes halved cherry tomatoes, sliced red onions, cubed avocado, and toasted chunks of bread tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette with some salt and pepper to taste.

Rachel Wright, sous chef at Leon's Full Service in Decatur, Georgia, told Insider that making breadcrumbs may be one of the simplest and most delicious ways to cook with bread.

"All you do is roast very thinly sliced pieces of sourdough with oil salt and pepper. You can add them to pastas and salads for added crunch and they look really nice," said Wright.

Try adding herbs like thyme, rosemary, and oregano to the bread for even more flavor.

Bread pudding is typically made by mixing stale bread with eggs, oil or butter, and either sweet or savory ingredients.

"Bread pudding is easy because everything gets mixed up in a single bowl and it goes right into the oven," said Wright. "You can use any type of bread, so it's perfect for turning bread that's about to expire into a fancy dish."

To make savory bread pudding, try adding ingredients like sautéed mushrooms, thyme, parmesan cheese, shallots, or garlic.

For a sweet rendition of bread pudding, consider tossing in dried fruit, chocolate chips, vanilla extract, or cinnamon and nutmeg.

Wright told Insider that using bread to make a panade, a mixture of bread and liquid (often milk or cream) that can be added to meat dishes to give them more volume and flavor, is a great way to bulk up a family meal.

Wright suggested added it to meatloaf, which can make the dish more flavorful.

"If you make a panade with bread and heavy cream and add it to meatloaf, it gives it a less dense but still very rich quality," she said. "This is good for making a tasty meal and stretching your food budget."

Grilling bread with herbs and oil makes for a spectacular summer side dish.

"Make grilled garlic bread easily by brushing your bread with some olive oil, minced garlic, salt, pepper, and dried parsley," Yin told Insider."It's a nice, easy, and delicious side dish if you've already fired up the grill."

You can also try topping grilled bread with slices of fresh mozzarella or minced sun-dried tomatoes.

If you want to evoke your favorite brunch spot right at home, consider whipping up some loaded toast.

"I love using artisan bread to make toast loaded with toppings. Garnish with fresh herbs or edible flowers to make it feel like a restaurant-quality dish," said Yin.

Mashed avocado, fava-bean purée, homemade ricotta, or summer preserves all make for superb toast toppings.

A strata is a layered casserole made with eggs, bread, and cheese. Since the bread is soaked and cooked in a rich egg mixture, it's a good way to use up stale slices.

"Strata is another impressive brunch dish that requires little effort. Most strata recipes you find are one-pot meals, and they're a good alternative to quiche," Chris Riley, chef and founder of The Daring Kitchen, told Insider.

You can pack this dish with vegetables or add meats like cooked bacon or ham. It also freezes and reheats well.

Using sliced bread as a base for a small personal "pizza" seems like a convenient swap, but this cooking hack can easily go wrong.

"Bread pizza is a bad idea. It usually ends up as a soggy, with too many toppings piled on a small slice of bread," Riley said. "You're way better off just making an actual pizza with real dough."

If you can't get your hands on actual pizza dough, opt for a thick corn or flour tortilla to reduce your chances of ending up with a soggy meal.

Unless you're in a pinch, you may not want to swap out regular burger buns for artisanal bread rolls.

"Don't use regular rolls as burger buns. If the bread is too hard, the burger will shoot out the back when you take a bite," Palak Patel, chef at the Institute of Culinary Education, told Insider.

If you can't get your hands on real burger buns, opt for a bread type that's soft and without holes that might allow sauce or drippings to leak out.

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