Bread Crumbs Recipe

Bread crumbs are easy to make and come in use for a multitude of purposes. They are used for topping casseroles, stuffing poultry, thickening stews, and adding inexpensive bulk to meatloaves and similar foods. They also give many a fried food (like fried chicken), a beautiful crunchy coating. It is a good idea to have some homemade bread crumbs in storage, for you never know when they'll come in handy. In fact, every time you have some old bread at home, you should convert it into bread crumbs, which is like killing two birds with one stone. Depending on what you are using them for, you may need dry bread crumbs or soft/fresh bread crumbs. The dry ones are usually used to coat food before it is fried, and the soft ones are usually used as stuffing to add volume to a dish. The last recipe for bread crumbs is to make the soft kind used for stuffing.

How to Make Bread Crumbs

• You can use any white, wheat, sourdough, rye, or any other type of bread to make crumbs. You can also use a combination of different breads. The only aspect you should be careful about is not to use stale bread. To make crumbs, use bread that has dried out. If you don't have any dry bread, you can toast or bake fresh bread to get all the moisture out of it.
• My way of making bread crumbs is to collect all the odds and ends of bread in a resealable plastic bag, and when you have sufficient, covert them to bread crumbs.
• If you are using fresh bread, first place the slices in a single layer on an ungreased baking sheet, and bake them in the oven at 300°F for approximately 10 to 15 minutes. After about 7 to 8 minutes, pull out the tray and turn all the slices over.
• Once they are cool, break the slices into small pieces, and put them into the food processor. Pulse until they achieve the desired coarseness, depending on what you want to use them for.

Seasoned Bread Crumbs

Ingredients

• 1 lb. (about 500 g) day old bread
• ½ tsp pepper, or to taste
• 2 tbsp dried oregano or thyme
• 2 tsp salt, or to taste
• 2 tbsp dried basil or parsley
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Directions
Preheat the oven to 300°F. Tear up the day old slices of bread onto small pieces, and put them into the bowl of the food processor. Pulse till you have coarse crumbs. Then spread the crumbs in an even layer in the baking sheet, and bake them for about 10 minutes. Take them out and stir them halfway through. Once the crumbs have cooled, pour them back into the food processor, and this time add all the other ingredients. Pulse until the crumbs are converted to a coarse powder, then cool, dry and store in an airtight container.

Italian Style Bread Crumbs

Ingredients

• 3 cups crumbs
• 1 tbsp olive oil (optional)
• 2 tbsp dry milk
• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• dash of salt & pepper
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp dried parsley

Directions
Start by saving all the crusts from the bread. Bake them in the oven for a longer period of time at a low temperature to turn them very dry and crisp. Then grind them in a food processor, and if you don't have one, put them into a bag and pummel them with a rolling pin. Add the salt, dry milk, pepper, brown sugar, parsley, garlic powder, onion powder and Italian seasoning to the crumbs. It you want bread crumbs that are slightly moist, you can add a tablespoon of olive oil to them.

Recipe for Bread Crumbs Stuffing

Ingredients

• ½ pound (2 sticks) butter
• ½ cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1 cup chopped onion
• ½ cup chopped scallions
• ½ cup pine nuts or chopped walnuts
• 1 tbsp minced fresh tarragon or sage leaves, or 1 tsp dried tarragon or sage, crumbled
• 6 to 8 cups coarse fresh bread crumbs
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Add the butter to a deep skillet and melt the butter in it over low heat. Then, toss in the chopped onion and saute for 5 minutes till soft. Next put in the nuts, for about 3 minutes, until they turn to brown. Finally pour in the bread crumbs and tarragon/sage and stir. Reduce heat and add scallions, salt and pepper and toss. Sample a little, and make any necessary adjustments. Add in the parsley last. Fill the chicken or turkey with this stuffing and then, roast the bird. This recipe makes 6 to 8 cups, which is enough for a 12 pound bird.

I'm sure you'll find a bread crumbs recipe here that will suit your need. If you cool and dry bread crumbs before storing, they should be good to use for a few months. Another piece of advise is to use Moroccan bread instead of regular bread, as it has more crust. One pound (about 500 g) of bread will give you approximately 3 cups of dry fine bread crumbs.