Discarding stale bread is like throwing money out the window, says Tawra Kellam of Wichita, Kan., co-author of “Dining on a Dime: 100 Money-Saving Recipes and Tips” (Newman Marketing).

Kellam’s book, which she wrote with her mother, Jill Cooper, has an entire section on bread thriftiness.

Although a loaf may cost only $2, if you toss half of it in the trash, you’ve forfeited a dollar that could be spent on something else.

“People don’t realize they’re throwing away 30 to 50 percent of their grocery bill through leftovers and waste,” says Kellam, who also edits a Web site called Living on a Dime (www.livingonadime.com).

But she’s found that once people realize it takes only five minutes to cut up enough stale bread for two 9-by-13-inch pans of croutons, they’re willing to do it.

Little food is wasted in Kellam’s household. She recycles her stale bread into croutons and bread crumbs, and she seeks day-old loaves at the store to use in French toast. Fresh bread just gets too soggy, she says. She also likes to float a slice of stale bread in French onion soup, top it with cheese and broil it.

Cook’s tips

TO MAKE CRUMBS, process stale bread in a food processor with a steel blade (for coarse crumbs) or a grating blade (for fine crumbs).

Truly stale bread produces very fine crumbs.

TO MAKE CROUTONS, cut stale bread into bite-size cubes, drizzle with olive oil and bake at 350 degrees about 8 minutes, until crisp and golden.

You can leave croutons plain or season them with just about anything, including parmesan cheese, oregano, parsley, garlic powder, butter and chili sauce.

TO SPEED UP STALING, put bread in the refrigerator. “Bread gets staler in one day in the fridge than it does in six days at room temperature,” cooking author Shirley O. Corriher says.

TO FRESHEN STALE BREAD, sprinkle it with water, wrap loosely in foil and heat in a 350-degree oven 10 minutes.

Sources: Everyday Italian (Potter); www.bread.com; www.foodsubs.com