Save money and make use of old, stale, hard bread by turning it into flavorful and so useful homeamde bread crumbs!
Since the day I figured out how to diy bread crumbs in a matter of minutes, I have never looked back. While writing this post, I can’t remember the last time I bought a bag of these from store.
Homemade bread crumbs are my favorite way to minimize wastage. We always end up having a hard, dried up bread around as some times I end up buying more than one type of bread and then we never go through all of it.
Making homemade bread crumbs and that too with different kinds of seasoning is my favorite way to use up dried up bread. The best part : It’s so quick that one time I found myself with no bread crumbs in my pantry just before wanting to put on baked mac & cheese. Now you know baked mac & cheese without bread crumbs is no good! Atleast at our place and so this trick is a lifesaver.
You can even use fresh bread for making this though I would suggest letting it dry overnight if possible. Keeping a bag of these bread crumbs have saved me nuisance trips to the store more than a few times. I usually like adding Italian seasoning to these and keeping them in airtight containers or ziplock bags.
So next time you are about to toss a perfectly edible yet hard stale bread, this is the solution!
- Dried, old stale bread (But make sure it's edible!) (I had half left from a loaf of french bread)
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ tsp parsley dried
- ½ tsp oregano dried
- ½ tsp basil dried
- ⅛ tsp rosemary dried
- ⅛ tsp ground thyme
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- If you are using an old stale and almost dried up bread, proceed as instructed OTHERWISE leave the bread out in open uncovered overnight so it dries up.
- Chop the bread in small pieces.(I like chopping the bread in even size pieces, so it all gets cooked in the oven at the same rate, making sure I don't end up with some under done and some overdone pieces.)
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Transfer the bread pieces in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. OR you can keep them in toaster oven and toast / dry out the bread completely.
- Let it cool for few minutes before adding in a food processor.
- Pulse it few times in a food processor until it reaches the desired consistency.
- At this point, you have homemade delicious unseasoned bread crumbs. Now if you want to make them into Italian seasoned bread crumbs, add the spices as mentioned above. Stir around and taste and adjust as per taste. I ended up with 1.5 cups of bread crumbs but it will totally depend upon the size of bread you are using and all other factors.
- Store in an airtight container or ziplock bags.
More How to Recipes:
This is actually something I’ve been meaning to do for awhile now!! I always end up using Panko or some such, but this just seems so much more, I dunno, legit?
Anyhoo, I found your blog through a fellow blogger, and just wanted to stop by and say hi! It would totally make my day if you did the same, or better yet, keep in touch! <3 – http://www.domesticgeekgirl.com
Hey thanks for stopping by!!
I am so guilty of using store-bought breadcrumbs. I bet yours taste a LOT better!
Haha girl you should seriously switch to homemade now!!
I need to make my own bread crumbs…homemade is always better! Thanks for the recipe Ami!
Thanks Manali and those cupcakes are just too cute!!
I’ve only ever made it once and that needs to change especially since it’s so easy! Yours sounds fantastic!
Thanks Kelly!!
This is one of those things that make me slap my forehead and say, “why didn’t I think of that?!” Thank you for this super easy, genius tip!
I do it all the time Linda!! I forget about simple things too and then when i see them somewhere, i think why i never thought about that?!! Haha but yes these are a life and money saver!!
This is such a fantastic idea, Ami! Love the idea of making your own bread crumbs. Totally trying this next time!
Do it Gayle!!
Lovely recipe and so easy to make! Guess what I am going to cook with my boyfriend this weekend!? You’re the best!
Thanks girl for stopping by!!
I love this! It is definitely worth the time and effort to make breadcrumbs at home, such a difference!
So true Amanda!!
Now I want to go to the store, buy a bread and wait for it to go stale. This looks fantastic!
Hehe do it!!
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So maybe this defeats the purpose of making “breadcrumbs” but why oh why has no one in any of the blogs that have similar breadcrumb recipes/tutorials, never mentioned that all you are doing by putting them in the oven is to A. Toast and brown the bread, B. Dry it out faster to make sure there is no more moisture in the bread prior to crumbing it in a food processor. So here is my thought, why would I not put it in a toaster for example? A toaster does the same thing and doesn’t require you to turn on your oven when it is 90 degrees outside. When you “over toast your bread slices” it dries them out and also Browns them a touch too much which is exactly what the oven will be doing. If it were me, and I just thought of this while thumbing through PInterest looking for breadcrumb methods…… I think I will attempt using a toaster to brown and dry out the bread slices, then break them up and place in a food processor, pulse until “crumb stage”.
Has anyone else done this or tried it with a toaster???? Why is it not mentioned at all as a method of browning and drying out the bread slices as one of the methods.
Ohh yes Emmi I have tried myself so many times!! Thanks for the reminder that I should add toaster method here too!