If you are like me, Winter weather brings not only the cold blowing wind but, also snow days and icy roads. For me, these days make me want to break out every method of baking that I can. If I let myself, I will bake way more than we can actually consume in just a few days.
My favorite item to bake is usually some kind of muffins or scones but, my absolute favorite item to bake is BREAD! There is something about bread baking that not only fills the house with an amazing aroma but, it gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. So, for one of the last snow storms we had, I baked a focaccia bread with rosemary and two loaves of Italian bread that we had with some Puerto Rican beef soup that I made. Having bread that is soft on the inside and perfectly crisp on the outside is the perfect accompaniment for soup!
Nevertheless, one can not live on bread alone (or at least for very long). We had consumed most of it (and this is with keeping myself in check because if not, I would look like a loaf of bread lol) but, after about 4 days something needed to happen with that bread. Since there aren’t any preservatives in this bread, it can go bad fairly quickly, even with being in the refrigerator so, by day four or five, it was time to do something with it. Plus, I have tried to make it a point to NOT waste any food for that last year so, this was the perfect opportunity to try and repurpose that bread. My FIRST thought was bread pudding but, not sure that focaccia bread would have been the best choice for a sweet bread pudding and honestly I wanted something different and something I could use at a later time so breadcrumbs was the perfect choice ESPECIALLY since I was making breaded cutlets for chicken parmesan that night. The spices in the focaccia were perfect and all I needed to do was add a little salt, pepper and some italian spices to the mixture when I would bread the cutlets. Plus, any leftovers I had, I could store in the freezer for later use.
I hope you enjoy making this simple recipe that will help your family use up any leftover bread, homemade or not!
Homemade Breadcrumbs
Equipment
- food processor
- baking sheet
Ingredients
- Leftover bread cut into cubes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Slice your bread into cubes (small enough to fit into your food processor)
- Add the cubed pieces to the food processor and process for 20 seconds. If you have a lot of cubes of bread, you can do this in batches. Check the coarseness of the bread, if you want crumbs that are a bit finer, process for another 20 to 30 seconds.
- Pour the crumbs to a large ungreased baking sheet. Spread evenly to a single layer
- Place in oven and bake for 7 minutes, stir then bake for another 5 to 7 minutes or until the bread is lightly browned, crisp and dry.
- Let the breadcrumbs cool completely in the pan for at least 10 minutes.
- Transfer to an airtight container or freezer bag. Store in freezer until ready to use.