Porridge to spare? Again? Here’s a great recipe for left over porridge bread and some other waste free porridge dishes.

If you are a porridge eating household, there’s a good chance that occasionally, there’s a little left over in the pot. Or maybe, if you have kids, a forgotten half eaten bowlful still on the table.

While I try and be as frugal and resourceful as possible in the kitchen- in all honesty, those left over half eaten bowls usually end up as my breakfast.

Standing by the kitchen sink and gulped as I mumble between mouthfuls, get your shoes on we need to leave!

That’s not frugality there, that’s just a basic need being met.

Occasionally however, I don’t want my kids leftovers as my first meal of the day, and the bowl in question gets shoved to the fridge.

Not to be neglected though.

Did you know that there’s a wonderful selection of baked goods that can be made from that bowl of porridge?

It’s the perfect thing to go into these baked goodies below (one way or another, my kids will be finishing that bowl of porridge).

First up and as my firm favourite, is Porridge Bread.

The soaked oats give a lovely chewy, soft texture to the crumb. It can be added to a lower yeast and longer ferment bread recipe like this one, or a regular sourdough if you prefer.

Just add it in at the mixing stage. If you want a quicker, ‘bread made for lunch using your breakfast kind of recipe’, then give this one below a crack…

Porridge Bread

• 2 tsps dried yeast
• 600g bread flour (4 cups)
• 1 cup left over porridge
• 500mls tepid water (approx)
• 2 tbls olive oil
• 2 tsps salt

In a bowl, add your yeast, flour, olive oil and porridge. While mixing together, slowly add your water.

The exact amount of water is going to depend on how runny you make your porridge so water amount for this recipe is approximate, just go slow and judge it accordingly.

Once mixed together as a shaggy dough, cover and set aside for 20+ minutes or so, then add your salt.

This waiting period is called autolyse and by doing so you are allowing the dough to develop it’s gluten- you’ll see a difference in the dough when you come back to it, far more elastic.

Mix in your salt, either by hand kneading it or with a mixer if you use one. Then cover and let it rise for an hour or so.

Out on to a lightly floured bench for a quick fold and then back into the bowl, leaving it covered for another hour or so (depending how warm it is in your kitchen – you want the dough to have roughly doubled in size).

Back to the bench top, this where you divide and shape your dough. I’ve gone for one big rustic look loaf (pic above), as I was doing it one handed after cutting a finger badly and having it subsequently all bandaged up.

Shape it however you want though- bread rolls, pop it in a couple of tins for an easy sandwich loaf, or simply one big loaf for tearing apart at the end of the week.

Bake in a hot oven 220-230C for approximately 30-35 minutes with steam.

Some other left over porridge options are porridge muffins – which are great ones to freeze, pop in lunch boxes or take on picnics.

Or how about some porridge pancakes? Simply whisk the left over porridge in with your usual pancake batter recipe.

Porridge biscuits (or cookies if you are US based) are great with an addition of some favourite seeds, butter and a little sugar to give the once neglected bowl of porridge a new lease of life.

Or maybe you could try a slice of porridge cake?

Whichever way you decide to use your leftovers, whether it’s in a loaf of bread or something else entirely, you know you are turning something already delicious into something that might even be tastier.

All while being frugal and resourceful – you can’t go wrong really.

If you have an alternative option to any of these suggestions, I’d love to hear them; what’s your favourite leftover porridge recipe?

Your guest writer today is Brydie Piaf – home maker, baker, blogger, photographer, writer and wrangler of small people. Thanks, Brydie!