As much as I love making homemade bread, there is a bit of a catch. The fact that there are no nasty preservatives in it is a huge bonus and is one of the main reasons I love making it, but it also means that it goes stale pretty quickly.
A loaf made in the bread maker really only lasts a couple of days and even though Josh (who can eat about 8 pieces of toast in one sitting) does a pretty good job trying to finish it, there is usually still some left that goes stale. While we can feed it to our pigs or chickens (and they loooove it) it still seems like a bit of a waste so I figured, why not make homemade breadcrumbs! Because, you know I’m a bit obsessed with making things from scratch!
Also, on a totally unrelated note, can you tell I was wearing my favourite pink sweatshirt when I took this picture? Haha whoops!
Making breadcrumbs is super easy and only takes 5 minutes if the bread is totally stale. If there is still a little moisture in the bread, break it up, put it on a baking tray and put it in the oven for 15-20 minutes until it has dried out. This will ensure the breadcrumbs don’t go mouldy.
Let it cool down and then whizz it up in a food processor or blender until it looks like, well, breadcrumbs! Word of warning – this step is super noisy so maybe avoid doing it at 3am or while your kids are asleep!
Look, instant breadcrumbs!
I found that mine were still not quite dry even after whizzing them up so I put the breadcrumbs back on the tray in the oven (it had been heated and then turned off) for about an hour. You could also put them in the fridge uncovered until dried out.
Once they are completely dried out, store in an airtight container and use in all recipes that call for breadcrumbs.
I’m making crunchy coated chicken with mine tonight!
Homemade Breadcrumbs
Ingredients
Stale bread
Method
Break bread into chunks and place in the oven at 150 degrees C for 15-20 minutes until completely dried out.
Allow to cool and then put in a food processor or blender and whizz until bread turns into breadcrumbs – it will only take a few minutes.
If the breadcrumbs are still slightly moist, put back on the oven tray and leave in the oven (heated and turned off) or leave them uncovered in the fridge until they are dry.
Store in an airtight container in the pantry.
Perfection, love reducing food waste, our Zadada would love this too. I must get myself whizzing up some breadcrumbs soon.
Thanks for joining in with our Fabulous Foodie Fun!
Have a gorgeous weekend.
PS – I love the pink sweatshirt reflection!
Yay for less food waste, totally with you on that one! Haha I couldn’t believe it when I opened the photos on my computer…doh! I am just loving being a part of FFF…so much talent! Have a great weekend yourself 🙂
I’m a bit naughty and often just buy breadcrumbs, but you’re so right – I rally should make my own – especially if they only take 5 minutes!!! Thanks for the inspiration!
I’m exactly the same – it’s just so convenient to buy them! It was only the stale half loaf of bread on my bench that inspired me but I’ll be doing it from now on 🙂