Making Breadcrumbs: Regular and Panko-Style

Making breadcrumbs is so incredibly easy to do! The best part is you can choose to make them the way you like them: regular, or panko-style breadcrumbs.

Originally published on Jan 5, 2012

Making homemade breadcrumbs probably never even crosses most people’s minds, right?

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They are so easy to make that you really should be thinking about it. By making homemade breadcrumbs from scratch, not only will you save a lot by not having to buy the overpriced store version, but you can choose which kind you prefer. 

Types of Breadcrumbs.

There a a few different types of breadcrumbs that you can make, but suffice it to say, the main thing to keep in mind is use good quality bread for the best quality breadcrumbs. If you use an artisan bread with more texture, your crumbs will be the same. However, if you want a plain, fine white version, then by all means use a plain, untextured, white loaf .

How to Make Fresh Breadcrumbs

1. Tear up fresh bread into pieces and place it in a food processor or blender and process until the desired size of crumb is reached.
2. Use these type of crumbs immediately.

How to Make Regular Breadcrumbs (Fine)

1. Tear the stale bread (I use whatever I have on hand, usually homemade) into chunks or pieces and place on a cookie sheet. I like to make breadcrumbs after I’ve turned off the oven. You want it to be warm (but not too hot), to dry out the pieces of bread).
2. Just leave the cookie sheet in overnight.
3. When you’re sure there’s no moisture left in the bread, place the pieces in a blender or food processor and process until there are no big pieces left. It should look something like the photo above.

How to Make Panko-Style Homemade Breadcrumbs (Coarse)

1. This time, use relatively fresh, just not extremely stale bread, and break into chunks or pieces.
2. Place directly into a blender or food processor. Put a little at a time or it can get stuck.
3. Process, and once uniform in size, spread the crumbs onto a cookie sheet or baking tray and place in a warm oven to dry, like this.

As you can see, these crumbs will be more coarse like panko crumbs. When these are used to coat your food, it will give a more crispy and crunchy coating.

How Long do Homemade Breadcrumbs Last?

Store both types of crumbs in an airtight container until ready to use. Be certain that the breadcrumbs are completely dry before sealing them. If there’s any moisture at all, this will invite mold. I have never had this happen, but I want to be sure you’re not tempted to store them before they’re completely dry. Homemade breadcrumbs should be used within 2 or three weeks if you keep them in a sealed container in the pantry.

How do You Make Breadcrumbs Without a Food Processor?

You have options to make the regular breadcrumbs because you can use a mortar and pestle to crush the dried crumbs of bread, or put them in a sealed food bag and crush them with a rolling pin or other heavy object. The pank0 style crumbs really need a food processor or blender to achieve that coarse grind.

Making Seasoned Crumbs

You can choose to store the breadcrumbs plain, or you can add salt and pepper as well as your choice of seasonings. I usually keep mine plain, then add seasoning as needed as you’ll see in the recipes below, like the schnitzel.

Use Homemade Breadcrumbs to Coat~

Homemade Chicken Tenders

 

Arancini

Christina’s Breaded Pork Schnitzel

Potato Croquettes

Tony’s Amazing Italian Crab Cakes

Use Homemade Breadcrumbs in These Recipes~

Scottish Sausage Rolls

Italian Style Meatballs

Gattó di Patate

Lorne or Square Sausage

 

Use them for virtually any food you’d like to have a crispy crust or coating. Add them to meatloaf to lighten it, or any way you are used to using your store bought crumbs. Its always nice to have homemade breadcrumbs on hand. Eventually, you’ll find yourself smugly walking past the cans and bags of these highly processed products in the store! 😎

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