Thank goodness there are tasty ways to use up stale bread, we often have some in our pantry, left over dough from pizzas made in to a loaf, baguettes not fully consumed, etc. In the cooler months bread pudding is a good go to for the stale loaf, but when the weather is warm Panzanella is on the menu.
Dice the bread.
Soak the bread chunks in a 1% brine. It should soak for about 20 minutes.
While the bread is soaking prepare the rest of the salad. Start off with the vinaigrette. In a bowl combine together some anchovies, mustard, confit garlic, finely chopped parsley, olive oil and vinegar (I prefer cider vinegar and a ratio of 2 parts oil to 1 part vinegar).
Give it a good whisk, making sure the anchovies break down and emulsify into the vinaigrette.
The salad vegetables are all very optional, and you could stick purely with tomato and basil, but I also added some cucumber, red onion, olives and capers. Mix through the vinaigrette.
Drain the bread and squeeze as much liquid out as you can, it doesn't matter if it crumbles, in fact I think it should.
Fold the bread through the rest of the salad, let it sit for at least 10 minutes so the bread has time to soak up the dressing.
