This is more related to eating than cooking: is there a kind of food that I can use to absorb sauce but that doesn't dry out as fast as bread?
I was thinking in the context of using bread to get the remaining sauce from a plate. And rice of pasta are par meals whereas this would be complementary to a meal.
when you say "dry out fast" do you mean over the course of the meal, or that the loaf dries out over a few days before you can eat it all?
I mean over 1 or 2 days, which for me is a pretty short period of time, too short for it to be worth buying fresh bread ever.
Depending on the meal, would thick cut chips be a suitable substitute? (UK chips FYI)
Yes I guess it could work, although not as well because chips don't absorb as well as bread, but it does take more effort and time to prepare. I had something easier in mind but I realize that what I'm looking for might not exist.
I was thinking of something like indian naan bread but I'm not sure that it is much better at staying fresh…
Best Answer
Here are a few ideas, starting with how you can make bread work, based on my comment:
Bread rolls often keep better than loaves, because they have a crust all round. You can often buy them singly. Demi baguettes are similar but about twice the size.
Part baked rolls keep for months (sealed, once open keep in the fridge and use within a few days). You finish cooking them just before serving, which is easy if you've got the oven on anyway.
Bread freezes well, at least for short periods, as does home made dough. You could form it into rolls, freeze, defrost in the fridge, and bake twice a week.
Many of these ideas require using an oven. If you don't have one or don't want to use it daily, you still have the option of flatbreads. Chapatis, for example, are intended to eat sauce with, and cook in a dry frying pan. They're simple to make fresh or, as with flour tortillas, you can buy or make a batch, keep in the fridge, and reheat in a microwave. You can often find prepacked flatbreads in 2-serving packs; until opened they keep for weeks, after that, seal them up and you've got a couple of days.
If bread is getting a little dry, toasting it makes it nicer (especially if you melt butter with crushed garlic and spread that on it).
Moving away from bread, rice and pasta don't really absorb much sauce, but couscous does (especially if you are a little mean with the water when cooking it. Boiled, jacket, or even roast potatoes can be mashed into gravy with your fork.