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A LOT of recipes call for breadcrumbs. Did you know you can easily make your own? Plus, this recipe for homemade breadcrumbs is a great way to reduce kitchen waste by using up “less desirable” bread and baked goods.
Equipment & Ingredients to Make Breadcrumbs
You can use bread heels, stale crackers, dry bread, and any savory baked goods (like rolls) to make breadcrumbs. Simply keep a bag of your “ingredients” in the freezer until you’re ready to make a batch of breadcrumbs.
The easiest way to make breadcrumbs is to use a food processor. I own the Hamilton Beach 10-Cup Food Processor and use it to for a lot of different stuff like pasta dough, pie crusts, and shredding big blocks of cheese.
If push comes to shove, you can also make breadcrumbs using a bag and a rolling pin – it’s a good task for a kid or if you need to vent your frustrations on some innocent baked goods. I usually only use this method if I don’t mind larger, coarse crumbs or if the recipe I plan on making would be better with the crumbs that way.
You’ll also need a baking sheet so you can dry the bread out (even more) in the oven before making into crumbs.
How to Make This
Remove your bread from the freezer and break it into chunks. It doesn’t really matter what size the chunks are but I do try to keep them shorter than my thumb.
Place the bread chunks on the baking sheet and bake until dry, about 25 minutes.
The bread shouldn’t have any give when you press on it.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
Add to the food processor and pulse until desired crumb size is reached.
Pour the resulting food crumbs into a storage container and place in the freezer.
How to Store Homemade Breadcrumbs
Because your homemade breadcrumbs likely have more moisture in them than store-bought, it’s best to store yours in the freezer. This keeps them crispy and they’ll last for about 6 months.
Homemade Breadcrumbs
Ingredients
- 8 oz bread, crackers, or baked goods
Instructions
Prepping Bread or Baked Goods
- Preheat oven to 250°F. Break bread or baked goods into small chunks and place on a baking sheet.
- Place in preheated oven and bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until very dry. Remove from oven and cool.
Making Breadcrumbs
- Place bread, baked goods, and/or crackers into a food processor and pulse until your desired size is reached.
- Store in an air-tight container, ideally in the freezer.
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