DIY Bread Crumbs

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Janelle Sorensen

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Maybe I’m really late to the game on this DIY, but I was so proud of myself a few nights ago when I made my own bread crumbs. It seems so obvious – bread is naturally crumby and the dryer is gets, the crumbier it gets. Voila! Bread crumbs. Still, I had always bought the little canisters of bread crumbs. I even bought different kinds – plain bread crumbs for some recipes, “Italian” bread crumbs for others. They just had such a nice consistency.

Well, a few nights ago, I decided I wanted to make Chicken Parmigiana, but, alas, I had no bread crumbs. I did have an old baguette. A rock hard bat of bread that had “compost” written all over it. I gave that baguette a second life; and here’s how.

DIY Bread Crumbs

What you need: Clearly, you need bread. Old, dry bread works best, but if you only have fresh bread, you can toast or bake it a bit to dry it out. As for what kind of bread, it depends on what you’re using the crumbs for. I used an old baguette for breading my chicken, but if you’re breading eggplant, for example, a heartier whole grain might add some interesting contrasting flavors.

What to do: I used a box grater – the slender side with the super-fine grating surface. Again, you may want more substantial crumbs, based on your recipe or preference.

To make them “Italian” bread crumbs, I simply added some basil, oregano and fresh parmesan.

That’s it. It’s that easy. And, I’ll never buy one of those silly containers of bread crumbs again. How about you?

Note: This is part of an on-going series of tips for eating healthier by doing things yourself. Whether it’s canning or making a pantry staple, when you make something yourself from whole ingredients, you avoid chemical exposures from things like synthetic additives and contaminants from packaging, as well as reduce your impact on the environment. Also, it should come as no surprise, but homemade is much tastier than factory made!