DIY Bread Crumbs

Breadcrumbs add crunch to meats, vegetables and casseroles. Use them to coat meat and vegetables for frying or baking or as a topping on casseroles or pasta dishes. Making your own breadcrumbs ensures you always have some available for your favorite recipe. Any type of bread works well for breadcrumbs, even old bread slices and bread heels that are beginning to go stale. Store your extra bread in the freezer until you have enough to make a bag of crumbs.

Things You'll Need

• Baking sheet
• Olive oil
• Plastic bag
• Rolling pin
• Storage container

Instructions

1. Lay the bread slices on a baking sheet. Brush the top of each slice with olive oil, if desired.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the sheet of bread slices on the middle shelf in the oven.

3. Bake the bread slices for 5 to 10 minutes, or until they begin to dry out and brown. The exact cooking time depends on how dry the bread slices were prior to baking. Fresh bread takes longer to dry in the oven than older slices.

4. Place 1 or 2 slices of dried bread in a plastic bag. Press the air out of the bag and seal it closed.

5. Roll over the bag with a rolling pin, crushing the bread into crumbs. Repeat for the remaining slices.

6. Store the breadcrumbs in a sealed container in the refrigerator until you are ready to use them. Alternatively, store the crumbs in the freezer if you plan to store them for longer than 1 week.

Tips & Warnings

• Process the breadcrumbs in a food processor instead of using a rolling pin.

• Cut the bread slices into cubes before baking them. Use the cubes as croutons on salads.

References

• University of Nebraska Extension; Homemade Whole Grain Croutons; Alice Henneman
• "The Complete Tightwad Gazette"; Amy Dacyczyn; 1998