My sweet cousin Casey (who lives way too far away in California) asked me to share my homemade breadcrumbs recipe on the blog recently. Her request is what sparked the homemade bread, grilled cheese and forthcoming boudin ball posts. I always make homemade breadcrumbs when I have leftover bread, but this has not happened in awhile as I am living the little to no carb lifestyle and have been since January. I store them in a mason jar in the freezer for up to 6 months. Other things I randomly keep in my freezer are tablespoons of tomato paste frozen individually, cubes of fresh orange juice, and chicken base that I made myself. And of course my homemade chicken stock! My grandmother, RoRo, taught me well to never waste food and always reuse things. This also ensures I always have things on hand when I want or need to whip up something really quick!
Homemade breadcrumbs are easy to make. The special equipment you will need is a food processer or similar type of thing. I used my Ninja food processing bowl for the first go round and then made them finer in my Mini Prep Food Processer. You could probably use a blender if you don't have one of those two things. Also you need a funnel. I never thought I would use a funnel as much as I do, if you don't have one, you need one! The breadcrumbs have a great flavor and taste much better than canned ones. Full recipe after the montage. And thanks Casey for inspiring me!
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| The cast. Man that bread was so good! |
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| Usually when I make this I am just using the ends of the bread. I made a bunch this time so I just sliced the bread. |
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| After the halfway turn |
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| Let them completely cool on a cooling rack. |
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| Give them a whirl to break them up. |
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| Add in your seasonings (or you can leave them plain if you desire.) Man this is a bad picture, still learning! |
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| Whirl them again to spread the seasoning love and to get them to a thinner consistency. |
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| Pour them into a mason jar via the funnel. It's not just for beer anymore! |
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| The finished product! |
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| And here they are made finer for the boudin balls. I wanted a less bready texture for them. |
Leftover bread (I used the equivalent of about 10 slices)
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, divided* (the kind in the green container, nothing fancy)
2 tablespoons italian seasoning, divided
teaspoon of salt, divided
teaspoon of pepper, divided
teaspoon of garlic seasoning (I used the Trader Joe's grinder but you can use anything, garlic salt, garlic powder, granulated garlic, whatever)
two dashes of red pepper flakes.
*I mean divide in half because you will work in two batches.
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Try not to get Juvenile (Link has explicit language) going in your head after typing that. Place the bread on two baking sheets and place in oven. Cook for 10 minutes, but check for browning earlier as all bread and ovens differ. Flip bread over with tongs (to protect your hands, I have learned this lesson well) and brown on the other side for the same amount of time for even brownness. Place half the bread in a food processor and pulse until it makes large crumbs. Add half the seasonings and then blend until desired consistency. Pour into a mason jar. Repeat with rest of bread and seasonings. Store in freezer for 6 months.
Happy Cooking!
Missy
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