Grandma's Bread Soup Recipe
- Daniel
- 12 hours ago
- 2 min read
This bread soup is not something I learned from a cookbook. It is something I grew up with. We did not have much, and my grandma never wasted food. Stale bread was not a problem to be solved; it was an ingredient waiting to be used.
Sesame rye sourdough...
This soup came together from whatever was on hand, usually bread, garlic, oil, and stock. It was simple, filling, and comforting, and to this day, it is the reason I never throw away old bread.
While bread soups exist all over Europe, this is not the classic Portuguese açorda you might be thinking of. Açorda often includes eggs, herbs, and sometimes seafood, and follows a more defined structure.
What my grandma made was different. It was looser, more improvised, and shaped by necessity rather than tradition. Many cultures have some version of bread cooked down into soup or porridge, especially in times when stretching ingredients mattered more than authenticity.
This is one of those dishes that quietly teaches you something. How to respect ingredients. How to cook without wasting. How comfort does not need to be complicated.
If you have stale bread sitting on your counter and a pot of stock, this soup is absolutely worth making. Use whatever crusty bread you have. I used sesame rye sourdough, but anything sturdy will work. And if you prefer a vegan version, vegetable stock works just as beautifully here. It is humble food, and that is exactly the point.
Ingredients:
(Serve 4)
Equipment:
Heavy Pot
Directions:
Please visit my "How To Make Chicken Stock" page for the recipe.
Please visit my "How To Make Vegetable Stock" page for the recipe.
Prepare the bread
Trim off the ends of the stale bread.
Slice the loaf in half and remove the crust.
Coarsely dice the bread into chunks.
Optional step. Lightly toast the crusts in the oven until dry, then blitz into breadcrumbs for garnish.
Cook the base
Place a heavy pot over medium heat.
Add olive oil and let it warm gently.
Add the minced garlic and sauté until aromatic.
Do not let the garlic brown.
Add the bread
Add the diced bread to the pot.
Stir to coat the bread evenly with the garlic and oil.
Cook for a minute or two so the bread absorbs the flavour.
Add the stock
Pour in the stock and stir well.
The bread will begin to soften and break down.
Continue cooking and stirring until the soup reaches a thick, porridge-like consistency.
Adjust the texture
If the soup is too thick, add more stock a little at a time.
If it is too thin, continue cooking to reduce.
Season and finish
Taste and season with salt and white pepper.
Turn off the heat.
Drizzle extra virgin olive oil over the top.
Garnish with chopped parsley and some torn or toasted bread crusts if you like.
Serve immediately while hot.
Nourishing...
Hearty and yummilicious...
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