How To: Make DIY Breadcrumbs

It's hard to finish a big loaf of bread before it gets stale. And too often, we forget about it until it's hard enough to be a doorstop. But if you have five minutes and a food processor, you can give turn it into breadcrumbs that can be used for countless dishes. See our step-by-step photos, below...

First, tear the bread into chunks, as many as will fit into your food processor bowl. We ended up with about 3 cups of loosely-packed chunks, which yielded 2 cups of crumbs.

Here's a tip: If your bread has a crunchy crust that's gotten really hard, leave it out (just scoop out the softer bread). Below, an un-processed chunk of crust that we fished out of our food processor.

After a few pulses to get things going, then a 10-second whir, you've got fine, uniform breadcrumbs that you can use right away or freeze. We'll throw ours on top of gratins, pasta, and baked vegetables, or coat chicken breasts in them before baking.

If you don't have a food processor, you can toast your bread first, then grate it on a box grater. See our instructions here: DIY Dried Breadcrumbs.

Does anyone have a method for making fresh breadcrumbs that doesn't require a food processor? Let us know!

Related: Recipe: Poor Man's Parmesan

(Images: Elizabeth Passarella)

Comments (6)

I love that top photo!

I've done something similar in the past - I took some hardened italian bread, broke it into chunks, and tossed in a blender. Worked out pretty well!

posted by Plaid Ninja on October 17th 2008 at 4:46am
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Yeah, great photo on top! I thought it was something liquid.

posted by sjbreeze on October 17th 2008 at 5:48am
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This is one of my favorite food processor uses, I haven't bought those cardboard containers full of "cardboard bits" in years!

Nothing compares to homemade breadcrumbs or croutons, and they really take such little time and effort to make. I usually clear out the old bread while prepping Friday's dinner, and make breadcrumbs or croutons during that time. I've found even hot dog buns make great breadcrumbs!

posted by bobcatsteph3 on October 17th 2008 at 6:55am
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What is the shelf life of homemade breadcrumbs? Do they last as long as store bought ones?

posted by clbeth on October 17th 2008 at 8:29am
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I keep my bread crumbs in the freezer, I use them pretty often but I know they've lasted 2-3 months with no problems.

When I want to use them I take them out of the freezer a few hours ahead to bring to room temperature, then toast them, or use as is.

Seriously, this is a homemade item that is far superior than store bought.

posted by bobcatsteph3 on October 17th 2008 at 4:13pm
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Thanks for the tip bobcatsteph3! Into the freezer they will go.

posted by clbeth on October 18th 2008 at 11:22am
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