Did you know it is super easy to make your own bread crumbs? Yep… that’s right! All that is needed is some stale bread and a food processor or blender, to save you money and another trip to the grocery store.
I used to BUY bread crumbs at the grocery store, but a few years ago I started making my own. It’s so easy to used leftover stale french bread to easily make them at home! I figure… why pay for it, if you can make the same amount with several pieces of stale bread drying out in the pantry? Right?
My husband LOVES french bread (my preferred bread type for making bread crumbs). He often picks up a fresh warm loaf at the grocery store, but since there are currently only 2 of us living in our home, parts of the original loaf that we don’t eat tend to go stale after a couple days. Normally people waste stale bread by just throwing it in the garbage… but wait… now you can put it to good use!
To make that old stale bread “go the distance”, why not turn it into something you can use in other recipes? I add these homemade crumbs to my Really Good Meatloaf, and they’re perfect to stretch out the filling in meatballs, too. This ends up being a very frugal way to use up inedible stale bread, without wasting it or dumping any of it in the trash. Here’s how:
OPTION 1: Slice up any stale bread you have. Even if it’s already stale, I simply leave it out, uncovered on the counter for a couple days, until it is CRISPY stale and very hard and dried out! Another way to do this is to leave the bread in the fridge on a plate or tray, exposed to the air for a day or two. This will remove any moisture left in the bread (and the bread will not grow mold).
The next thing to do is break or cut the bread up into smaller sized pieces, and toss them, several pieces at a time, into a food processor with the blade attachment on. Continue to pulse and process bread chunks until they have broken down into fine crumbs.
OPTION 2: If you happen to be in a real hurry, and need those bread crumbs STAT… you can always cut the bread into cubes, spread the cubes onto a cookie sheet, and bake them at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. You will need to check them and turn them to prevent burning, but this is another solution that might work for you. Once you are done toasting them until crispy, process them as mentioned above.
Once the bread has been reduced to tiny crumbs, pour it into sealable jars (I like to use canning jars). If desired, use a funnel to fill the jar, and then use a long skinny skewer to clear any clogs in the funnel).
See how many bread crumbs I got out of half a loaf of old, stale bread? This is the perfect size bread crumbs to use if adding to meatballs or meatloaf, etc. A half loaf of French bread will typically yield about 2 cups of crumbs.
Sometimes I like to leave the bread crumbs a bit larger, as you can see in the jar on the left (I can use this to make homemade stuffing, etc.). It’s really up to you how finely you process the bread. The finely processed crumbs in the jar on the right are typically the size you would find in a grocery store, and is my “normal” size.
By the way, if you need Italian bread crumbs for a recipe, no problem! It’s very easy to add a few spices to the bread crumbs to transform them. To make Italian flavored crumbs, simply add salt, black pepper, dried parsley, oregano, basil, onion powder and garlic powder, and mix together until spices are fully incorporated! Exact measurements can be found in printable recipe below.
It’s so easy to make this staple pantry ingredient… and there’s really no need to spend any extra money buying it! You can also keep stale pieces of bread in a freezer bag in the freezer (and keep adding to the bag) until you have time to make a bunch of crumbs up! See what I mean? EASY PEASY!
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It's super easy to make your own bread crumbs with some stale bread and a food processor or blender, to save you another trip to the grocery store.
- 1/2 loaf STALE french bread , sliced
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon parsley (dried)
- 1/4 teaspoon basil (dried)
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
Slice up any stale bread you have. Even if it's already a bit stale, simply leave it out, uncovered on the counter for a couple days, until it is CRISPY stale and very hard and dried out!
Break or cut the bread up into smaller sized pieces, and toss them, several pieces at a time, into a food processor (or heay duty blender) with the blade attachment on. Continue to pulse and process bread chunks until they have broken down into fine crumbs.
Once the bread has been reduced to tiny crumbs, transfer mixture into a jar (or container) with a lid, and store until ready to use.
NOTE: I you wish to make ITALIAN bread crumbs, add the spices to the processed bread crumbs and mix well to fully combine ingredients. Transfer mixture into a jar (or container) with a lid, and store until ready to use.
Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!
