I've been making and using dried and fresh breadcrumbs for many years - and not just for breading, but in recipes for cookies, brownies, cheese patties, gingerbread, waffles and pancakes. I've collected the recipes from my older cookbooks - back when people didn't waste food like they do now...... I put so much effort into milling my own flour and making my own breads with nutritious ingredients, I couldn't see wasting ANY of it. I'm glad to report, I've been successful using homemade gluten-free breads as well in many of the recipes using breadcrumbs.

I recently made a loaf of "Life-Changing Bread" ( http://www.mynewroots.org/site/2013/02/the-life-changing-loaf-of-bread/), which is primarily seeds/nuts/oats. It was very tasty, but about a third of the expensive-to-make loaf crumbled when sliced, so I used the crumbs to make crumb pancakes.

Another recipe I've used that was shared here on the Cooking forum was for "Turkey Stuffing Bread", a King Arthur Flour Recipe. As the name indicates, it was designed to be used for stuffing/dressing, but the crumbs were excellent made into Cheese Patties (a meatless patty using bread crumbs, cheese - feta or goat cheese, egg, parsley, and black pepper). And the sliced bread was great used as a sandwich bread toasted/grilled with turkey and cranberry sauce.

Grainlady,

You put breadcrumbs in baked goods, waffles, and pancakes?

Beesneeds,

I don't use many breadcrumbs but if I do, they're generally fresh and I use a slice or two of whatever bread happens to be sitting on the counter. When we were kids, Mom would save bread ends and what not just grind them up. We rarely ate anything but ordinary white bread.

mike_kaiser_gw

It all started with this recipe from “The Tightwad Gazette” by Amy Dacyczyn.

BREAD-CRUMB COOKIES
1-1/4 c. flour
1-1/4 c. sugar
½ t. salt
½ t. baking powder
1/3 c. cocoa
½ c. milk
1 egg
1-1/2 t. vanilla
2/3 c. melted shortening
2 c. bread crumbs (dry)

Sift together dry ingredients. Combine wet ingredients and add to dry mixture. Add melted shortening and bread crumbs. Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350°F for 15-minutes or until done.

This recipe works with the soy-flour-for egg substitution (a heaping tablespoon of soy flour and one T. of water) [Grainlady note: Soy flour/water was a favorite egg replacement by the author.] I have also had good success substituting 1/3 c. applesauce for 1/3 c. of the shortening. Recipe contributed to The Tightwad Gazette by Ruth Palmer, Glendale, Utah.

BREADCRUMB GRIDDLECAKES
(source: New Fanny Farmer)
In place of flour use ¾ c. fine, dry bread crumbs and ¼ c. flour. Soak the crumbs in the milk until they are soft. Add other ingredients.

BREAD PUDDING
(source: New Fanny Farmer)
(made with dry bread crumbs)

2 c. dry bread crumbs
4 T. butter
1 quart milk, scalded
½ c. sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten
½ t. salt
Add crumbs and butter to milk. Cool. Add sugar, eggs, salt and vanilla. Pour into buttered baking dish. Bake 1-hour at 325°F.

BREAD CRUMB OMELET
(source: New Fanny Farmer)
½ c. stale bread crumbs
½ c. milk
4 egg yolks
¾ t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
1 T. butter
Soak bread crumbs 15-minutes in milk. Add beaten yolks and seasonings. Fold in whites beaten stiff. Cook like Puffy Omelet (from the book). Serves 4.

CRUMB GRIDDLE CAKES
(source: Capper’s Farmer Cook Book)
1-1/2 c. stale bread crumbs
1-1/2 c. sweet milk
3 eggs well beaten
½ c. flour
½ t. salt
4 t. baking powder
1 t. fat

Soak crumbs in milk, add beaten eggs, then flour, sifted with other dry ingredients. Add melted fat. Beat good, drop on hot griddle. Cook on one side until edge is brown and cake is bubbly, then turn and cook on other side. –Mrs. Holvor Jameson, Minnesota

CHOCOLATE CRUMB BROWNIES

1/3 c. margarine or butter
6 T. cocoa powder
2-3/4 c. medium fine SOFT bread crumbs *
½ t. baking powder
¼ c. chopped nuts, optional
1 egg
2 T. water
1 c. brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease an 8-inch square baking pan. Melt fat and cocoa powder together over low heat, stirring occasionally. If using a microwave, cook on LOW power for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes or until fat is melted; stir to combine. Cool

In medium mixing bowl, combine bread crumbs, baking powder and nuts. In separate bowl, beat egg and water together. Stir in cocoa mixture and brown sugar; beat until combined. Combine cocoa mixture with bread mixture until all ingredients are moistened.

Spread evenly in prepared pan. Bake 25-30 minutes or until done. Cool completely on wire rack. Makes 16 brownies.

*Do NOT use commercial dry bread crumbs. Bread that is at least 3 days old works best. Using a food processor, blender, or by hand, shred bread into medium-fine crumbs.
[Grainlady note: Due to differences in bread used in this recipe, you may find the batter is dry. You can add another egg, sour cream, yogurt, or applesauce to compensate for the dryness. You want to avoid a stiff dough. I use coconut oil in the recipe for the light coconut flavor - a "secret" ingredient flavoring. Sprinkle the top with chocolate chips or mint-flavored chips before baking, for something a little different.]

OLD FASHIONED GINGERBREAD USING BREAD CRUMBS
1-1/2 c. honey
2 t. white wine vinegar
½ c. ale
2 T. ground ginger
2 T. anise seeds
2 T. ground cinnamon
1 quart dry bread crumbs, grated

Over low heat in a large saucepan heat the honey until it is warm. Add the vinegar and ale. Add ginger, anise, cinnamon. When everything is warm add the bread crumbs and mix well. Keep cooking until the mixture is thick yet moist. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet and turn the dough out onto it. As soon as it is cool enough to handle roll it into a log. Once it is cool cut thin slices and serve.

LEFTOVER BREAD AND CHEESE PATTIES(source: http://www.giverecipe.com/leftover-bread-and-cheese-patties.html)

Recipes from the San Francisco Examiner “Prudence Penny Cook Book”
1.Queen of Puddings (using 1 c. fine bread crumbs)
2.Bread-Crumb Griddle Cakes (using 1-1/2 c. dry bread crumbs)
3.Coconut Pudding (using ½ c. bread crumbs)
4.Spice Pudding (using 1-1/2 c. bread crumbs)
5.Peasant Girl with a Veil (2 c. dried crumbs - suggests graham or rye bread)

When I bake bread for bread crumbs, I use a recipe that does not have milk in it and no oil or butter, like a baguette.

I always have too much matzah, and it makes wonderful breadcrumbs, so recently I've just been using that for things like meatballs, where it's about absorbancy and stick.

If I were going to make a breadcrumb topping or coating, I might bake for it. I have a big issue with rancid breadcrumbs so won't use most of the commercial stuff. There is a brand of panko that's nice, however, Ian's, and it keeps. It also comes in whole wheat. Ordinarily, I'd just dry the end of whatever bread I had on hand (homebaked) and grate it. Kudos to you, Lars, for making purposeful breadcrumbs!

BTW, I don't think Grainlady said, here, but has in previous posts about baking with crumbs, that it's for using up bread. A step beyond the crouton. :)

There are a lot of recipes, especially Spanish ones, that use bread instead of flour becasue the bread is already cooked. Often they call for well aired bread (dried out), which is the precursor to breadcrumbs. :)

I save scraps of bread in the freezer and turn into crumbs when I run out. I dry all the slices overnight on baking sheets, and process in my food processor. I store it in a container in the freezer. If it's not quite dry enough after grating, I spread on cookie sheets and dry in the oven for a while.

I've seen recipes where pasta is topped with toasted breadcrumbs for some crunch.

I'd never bake for breadcrumbs, just use scraps and freeze.

In RARE times of desperation, might actually buy bread crumbs... probably less than 5 times in my entire LIFE. My grandmother always had a big bowl that ended up with all the odds/ends of bread... sliced, rolls, biscuits, etc. Once dry & hard, she'd pull out her old-fashioned grinder and put us grand kids to work.

I KNOW I'd never BAKE bread just to make CRUMBS?? I usually check out the rack of less than perfect baked goods in supermarket. I knew I was low on bread crumbs so bought a bag of "day old" rolls for CHEAP. Kinda chunked up, into big bowl for a little air-dry, will run thru food processor when dry enough.

I haven't baked bread in many years and I normally buy certain kinds (rye bread, raisin bread) that aren't good for bread crumbs. But I have a BP problem, so I want to reduce my intake of sodium. The commercial bread crumbs, even the unseasoned ones, have too much salt.

After I got a food processor, I thought I'd make my own bread crumbs, but I'd have to buy the bread at the supermarket. Well, guess what! Even the bread and rolls on the day-old rack (mostly specialty items, not loaves) were not priced to compete with the store-bought bread crumbs, which cost about $2.00 for a 24-oz container! However, if I wait until white bread (or whole wheat, etc) goes on sale, they're only about $1.00 a loaf, and they fill about two-thirds of a recycled bread crumbs container. I keep the container, lying on its side, in the fridge. When I make the bread crumbs, I often add Italian seasonings (but not salt). Even if there was no cost saving, I figure I still benefit from making the crumbs myself.

BTW, I also buy a box of corn flakes when they go on sale and make corn flake crumbs, too (also cheaper and lower sodium content than the commercial CF crumbs).

Sue

Like Islay, I sometimes just save the heels in the freezer for plain crumbs, but we eat a lot less bread than we used to & I often use other things like tortilla chips, crackers & cereal for crumbs - whatever's on hand.

& more recently, I've been using stuffing mix to make seasoned crumbs - so delicious!

I'm another one that uses heels and weird slices from homemade bread to make crumbs. But I grate the slices in my food processor before drying. (I always slice and freeze the panned bread I make, so I thaw the ends before grating.) I find grating so much easier than trying to process hard, dried slices with the blade. I put the freshly made crumbs in a baking pan, cover with a tea towel, stir them around a couple of times each day, and within two days they're dry enough for storing. Also, by crumbing un-dried slices, I can freeze "fresh" breadcrumbs for later use.

However, I have made bread specifically for bread crumbs because I've run out. On those few occasions, I use my bread machine and bake on the quick setting. I don't fuss about checking the dough for perfect consistency because it's going to end up grated in the food processor. And I use just a very basic recipe -- nothing fancy.

I prefer to make crumbs with my homemade low sodium bread because of my husband's diet restrictions. I've also made crumbs from unsalted matzos, tortilla chips, and potato chips.

Gluten sensitive so I use GF waffles or save ends of bread, pulse them in the FP, then toast them. When I make bread, I save anything that doesn't make a slice in the freezer until needed. Corn flakes come in handy, too.

I do save ends and half un-eated loaves and freeze for toast points for soup/chowders and breadcrumbs...thaw and slice and toast in the oven till dry for crumbs...then keep in the freezer. A must/need for holiday stuffing/dressings and includes some leftover cornbread frozen.

DH is the bread baker and i admit to asking for the Forkish pinch bread when i run out of freezer 'ends' for crumb. So i would make a crusty Italian boul if making bread for crumb.

His recipe makes two loaves that we cannot consume in a few days, but the dough can sit in the fridge for a few days or four and can be made into so many things...buns for burgers, pizza, etc. All make great crumb.

When using breadcrumbs i like to toss with olive oil, fresh minced garlic, and herbs, in a bowl first before topping a fish dish, a leftover pasta for an adult mac-n-cheese....etc.

I recently made what was supposed to be lavash bread (for some hummus I had made), but it came out more like Matzoh and would have been good for bread crumbs. I'll probably make it that way the next time I want bread crumbs or else just make Matzoh, which has fewer ingredients. The lavash I made had sesame seeds on it, and I would omit those if I want to use it for bread crumbs, but I think it would be easy enough to remove them.

Lars

Or the sesame seeds could be tasty in the breadcrumbs. :)

Does anyone here make Panko?

The only method i found successful for mock panko is to take a fresh day old boule, or half a leftover one, remove the crust with enough "meat' to make some croutons, (for soups)....and cube the white crustless middles and toast low and slow and not brown. When cool and dry, pulse in the cuisinart to a crumb. Then back in the oven at a low 225, turn oven off and let rest in the oven for an hour...very dry but not toasted. A white bread, from a bbq white purchased bun left over, might be better but i rarely have that. (kids like a hot dog white bun).....

Just removing the crust from bread will make a good panko. When i make crab cakes or cod cakes, i don't want the crust flavor. i just want the simple white 'panko'...that does not gives a brown dried crust intrusion. I think of panko as texture and not a flavor. DH bought whole wheat panko by mistake over the holidays and it would have ruined my crab cakes. SO strong and odd. I used a smashed/crushed matzo instead. (always good in a pinch)

The panko style works so well because they stick AND stay crisp. Neutral, non-toasted flavor.

Thanks for the instructions. I actually do use whole wheat panko, but on chicken or something where the flavor isn't obtrusive. Once in awhile I do want the white, but hate trying to keep it around because it's generally obnoxiously stale by the time I get to it. :)

I think you have to freeze Panko to keep it fresh. Or store it in a vacuum sealed glass jar.

Here is the lavash I made, which was good for making bread/cracker crumbs. It looks more like matzoh because I baked it a little too long, and it became crisp, like a cracker.

I did not prick it because the lavash recipe did not call for that.

Lars

Cook's Illustrated (America's Test Kitchen) suggests grating crustless bread and letting it dry without toasting to use as a substitute for panko. That's where I first got the idea of using the food processor's grating disk rather than the blades for making bread crumbs.

Thanks for the further panko info, Lars and Shambo.

Lovely looking lavash, Lars! I love it when it's crisped up like that!