Starting with the basics: Episode 3
Homemade Breadcrumbs
Warning: this recipe contains Gluten
My Dad was visiting us the other day for my son’s birthday and I made my son’s favorite dinner, Italian food. I made the usual suspects for our family, chicken parmesan AND spaghetti and meatballs. Don’t worry guys, we had salad too!
The following day I stopped by my Dad’s house to pick up a gift that he bought for me. Yes, I have the coolest Dad in the world, but moving on. While I was there he mentioned how good the meatballs were - he actually talked about it for awhile. I told him that the secret to a good meatball is the ingredients you use to make the meatball.
You can learn great techniques, but ultimately, it’s really about the ingredients.
That’s why this episode on basics is Bread Crumbs. Yes, they ARE an ingredient, simple to make, and much better than what you would buy at the store. One of the biggest benefits is that you can make a lot in a short amount of time, then throw the rest in your freezer. If you do freeze them, you don’t even have to thaw them to use them! Anyway, breadcrumbs are a staple in my household because you can top a casserole with them, make crab cakes, top mac and cheese, and of course make meatballs.
Best Part?
You can use any bread you want for this recipe. My favorite to use is sourdough, but the most important part is to use bread that is going stale. This is a great recipe to keep you from throwing that loaf of bread away that your kids didn’t eat!
And maybe it will enhance your next recipe and give your Dad or family member something to talk about….
FYI , this was from a time that concerts were acceptable to go to ;)
Lets get started cooking…
Homemade Bread Crumbs
Ingredients:
Bread of your choice cut into cubes
……literally that’s it.
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 300 Degrees.
Place bread in food processor and pulse a few times. It’s okay if there are some chunks, since you will be processing them again.
Place the processed bread on a baking sheet in a single layer. If you are making a lot you might have to use 2 sheets.
Bake the bread crumbs for 5 minutes and then give them a “shake.”
Then continue to bake for 10 more minutes. They should be completely dried out at this point. If they aren’t, and still feel a little moist, continue to bake! We are making bread crumbs!
Once the bread is completely dried out, place them back in your food processor and process them till they are fine…or chunky, whichever you prefer. The great thing about making your own ingredients is you can control how they turn out!
