Making Breadcrumbs

If you have an old loaf of bread sitting around or a failed baking attempt (guilty as charged) you can give it new life by making breadcrumbs!

Okay guys. Confession time.

We bought a grain mill earlier this fall. I started using it a few months ago to make fresh ground whole wheat flour. Amazing, right?

Yes, absolutely.

However, turns out making bread JUST from your home ground flour is not easy. I’ve been turning out loaf after loaf of dense bread that not only doesn’t rise, but no matter how long I leave it in the oven it stays, as my friends at the Great British Bake Off say, “stodgey” in the middle.

I’ve been so frustrated by all my ugly and (let’s face it) inedible loaves of bread, that I actually made my husband bring home a bag of all purpose flour so I could bake my old stand by recipe. I needed a reminder that yes, I CAN bake a delicious and beautiful loaf of bread.

I don’t know if we bought hard red instead of hard white wheat or WHAT is going on but dang. I’ll need to figure this out soon.

ANYWAY.

As you may have imagined, all these baking mishaps have led me to use up tough loaves in creative ways. Enter, breadcrumbs.

Why Make Your Own Breadcrumbs

There are a few good reasons to make your own breadcrumbs.

Use Up Bread that is Past its Prime

Perhaps you accidentally made a dense loaf of wheat bread (cough). Or maybe you left the bread bag open and now you have stale loaf.

These are perfect candidates to be made into breadcrumbs.

Flexibility to Mix It Up

When you buy breadcrumbs from the store they typically have plain or Italian crumbs.

There’s no reason to stick to these two seasoning blends. The only limit on the type of seasoned breadcrumbs you make is your imagination and your spice cupboard. See below for suggestions on ways to season your crumbs!

It’s a Good Recipe to Know in a Pinch

Breadcrumbs are one of those things I either have eight cans of in the cupboard because I keep buying them, not realizing I already have some. Or I have absolutely no cans because I think I have it and don’t. It’s feast or famine with these things.

Even if you don’t have a stale or reject loaf of bread, you can make your own crumbs from any kind of loaf if the need arises.

Supplies and Ingredients Needed

Breadcrumbs are pretty simple to make but only if you have a food processor. To be honest I have never tried making them in a blender before. I think if you did them in small batches it would still work fine. Worst case scenario you can pulverize them with something heavy.

Supplies

• Sheet Pan
• Food Processor

Ingredients

• Bread
• Seasonings as desired

How to Make Breadcrumbs

This first step is only if you have a fresh loaf or under baked loaf like my recent monstrosities.

Set your oven on 300F.

Lay out your slices of bread on a sheet pan. No need to grease. Bake for 20 minutes. Check the slices. Are they dried out? Perfect. If not, let them go a few more minutes and check again.

Next, crumple up your bread slices and place them in a food processor.

Pulse for a few seconds at a time until you reach the desired coarseness.

Next, add whatever seasonings your heart desires and use those crumbs!

See below for ideas on ways to use breadcrumbs and seasonings.

Basic Breading Recipe

Start with three wide bottom bowls or baking pans.

In the first bowl, add 2 cups flour. Season with salt and pepper.

In the second bowl whisk three eggs.

Put 3-4 cups of breadcrumbs in the final bowl. Seasonas desired.

Take whatever you are breading, let’s say a chicken breast.

Press it into the flour on both sides

Next, drag it through the beaten eg so it is coated.

Finally, press it into those tasty bread crumbs on either side.

Now bake or fry up that chicken!

Other Ways to Use Breadcrumbs

The most common way you will use breadcrumbs is as a breading. Fish, chicken, pork, etc. can all be coated in flour, dipped in eggs, then coated in breadcrumbs to make them nice and crunchy.

Other popular uses are:

• Top macaroni or other pasta
• Incorporate them into meatballs
• Sprinkle on a delicious tomato soup
• Add to a stew for extra thickness and flavor

How to Store Homemade Breadcrumbs

If the bread crumbs are toasty dry, you can store them in a mason jar in the cupboard for a few weeks.

If they still have a little moisture, better to keep them in the fridge until you need to use them. They can also be frozen.

Mason jars are my storage container of choice but any food storage container or plastic food storage bag will work fine too.

Seasonings to Add to Breadcrumbs

There are many different spice blends you might want to add to breadcrumbs. Truly, there is no limit to what you might want to add.

Italian Seasoning

For each 2-3 Cups of crumbs mix in:

• 1 Tablespoon Basil
• 1 Tablespoon Oregano
• 2 Tsp Rosemary
• 1 Tablespoon Parsley
• 2 Tsp Thyme
• 1/2 Tsp Garlic

Cajun Seasoning

For each 2-3 Cups of crumbs mix in:

• 1 Tbsp Paprika
• 2 Tsp Salt
• 1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
• 1 Tbsp Black Pepper
• 2 Tsp Onion Powder
• 2 Tsp Cayenne
• 1 1/2 Tsp Oregano
• 1 Tsp Thyme

Poultry Seasoning

For each 2 cups of crumbs mix in:

• 1 Tsp Salt
• 1 Tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/2 Tsp Black Pepper
• 1/2 Tsp Paprika
• 1/4 Tsp Rosemary
• 1 Tsp Parsley

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