Homemade Bread Crumbs Recipe

 

Learn To Make Homemade Bread Crumbs

 

There is nothing like homemade bread crumbs to improve the taste of your dish.

Fresh homemade bread crumbs taste far better than store-bought bread crumbs and they are so easy to make!  Making your own bread crumbs also saves money since commercial bread crumbs are expensive.

 

homemade bread crumbs

Since I like to make homemade bread, I always seem to have end pieces around that I target and save for making homemade bread crumbs.  Any type of bread (white, wheat, sourdough, rye, etc.) can be used.  There is nothing wrong with combining various breads – why let them go to waste?  The mixture of various breads also gives your dishes some wonderful taste experiences!


Please, do not use stale bread in this process.  Stale bread makes for stale tasting breadcrumbs.

You need to use dry bread only.  If you bread is too fresh, just bake fresh bread slices in a slow oven a oven until slightly dry.  I usually wait until I have enough bread slices to fill my food processor before making the crumbs.  Just store your odds and ends of bread in a large re-sealable plastic bag in the freezer until ready to make your homemade bread crumbs.

If your bread is not dry enough to crumble in the food processor, place bread piece/slices on an ungreased baking sheet.  Bread pieces will dry faster and evenly when they are laid out in a single layer, rather than when the pieces are stacked; allow a bit of room between pieces to dry properly.  Bake in a 300 degree F. oven for approximately 10 to 15 minutes.  About halfway through, turn them over so they dry evenly.  Remove from oven and let cool.

Tear dried bread into smaller pieces and place in your food processor.  Whirl until desired coarseness.  NOTE: I like to grind mine until a coarse texture.  This way, if I need finer crumbs, I just regrind the amount needed when making my dish.


BreadCrumbs4-use

 

Ground up bread crumbs

 

 

If you do not have a supply of homemade bread crumbs in your freezer, and you need a small amount for your recipe:

Use 1 or 2 slices of bread.  Dry in oven.  Place dry bread slices in a resealable plastic bag, and using your rolling pin or a large drinking glass, roll over the top of the plastic bag and crush bread until desired coarseness.

Comments and Reviews

29 Responses to “Homemade Bread Crumbs Recipe”

  1. Kathi

    How do you store the unused crumbs or do you have to use them all shortly after making them?

    Reply
    • Linda Stradley

      I store the bread crumbs in my freezer. This way I always have bread crumbs available when needed.

      Reply
  2. Patience Archibong

    do i need to spice my bread crumbs before using?

    Reply
    • Whats Cooking America

      If you like, you can add preferred seasonings to the bread crumbs when ready to use.

      Reply
  3. Mitchell

    The recipe requires 1 cup of firmly packed bread crumbs. Approx. how many slices would that take?

    Reply
    • Brenda

      I have not measured how many slices would make a cup since I always make a large batch of bread crumbs for storage in my freezer for recipes. Also there are different sizes and thicknesses of bread so it would be difficult to give an exact answer.

      Reply
  4. Brenda

    I had a loaf to get smashed and so I made bread crumbs out of it, It looks like flour, almost . Do I need to cook it and how do I store it?

    Reply
    • Linda Stradley

      It sounds like you over ground the bread – you want coarse crumbs. I store my homemade bread crumbs in a resealable plastic bag in the freezer.

      Reply
  5. Jan E Beck

    Thanks for this instruction. I live 17 miles from the closest grocery store and never seem to have “bread crumbs” when called for in a recipe. Also, I throw away bread that isn’t molded because I’ve already bought a new loaf and my pantry is too full to hold both. I will NEVER throw out a short loaf again. And hopefullly, I will ALWAYS have bread crumbs in the freezer now.

    Reply
  6. Oyin

    Can I microwave the bread to make it dry?
    (I don’t know how to use an oven)
    Thank you.

    Reply
    • Linda Stradley

      I, personally, have never microwaved bread to make crumbs. From what I have been told, microwave on high power for 5 minutes, or until crunchy.

      Reply
  7. Rob

    when u put fresh bread into the food processor, and then gets coursed breadcrumbs, how u stil make them dry like the ones u buy in shop.
    do you keep them out and dry them with air, or just use as is, when in meatloaf.

    Reply
    • Linda Stradley

      You need to dry the fresh bread in the oven before grinding in the food processor.

      Reply
  8. Amy Robart

    I want to make chicken cutlets and was wondering what spices to add to my homemade bread crumbs?

    Reply
  9. cap cresap

    Making bread crumbs with fresh bread is beyond simple. Squeeze 2 or 3 slices of fresh bread into a hard ball. Put it in a blender and blend it. That’s it. Leave the crumbs on a cookie sheet to dry for a short while and put the crumbs in a plastic bag in the freezer or use as is.

    Reply
    • Trisha

      I’m beyond amazed someone took the time to write this recipe. I’m doubly amazed that people are asking questions about it LOL.

      Reply
      • Dustywind

        Trisha, let me ask you this:
        Do you know how to saddle a horse?
        No? Well, you should, if you’ve seen it on TV or watched someone saddle one, right?
        If you tried from that experience, your saddle will roll down under it’s belly as you put your foot in the stirrup.
        Why? Because you didn’t ask questions…

        Reply
        • Sheila

          Right!

          Reply
          • Paula

            You must have had a mom or teacher who taught you these things. Nothing in cooking is “obvious” to a brand new cook. Articles like this one are a godsend for one’s first adventures in creating their own meals.

            Get off your high horse, and be a little more sympathetic!

  10. MULCAHY COLIN

    This is useless
    Where in the $$??€<#%%++== is the recipe???

    Reply
    • Whats Cooking America

      Well since the only ingredient is bread, you just have to read the page and it explains how to turn bread into bread crumbs.

      Reply
  11. ej bailey

    I have bread that is 1 month old BUT kept frozen for the whole month….can I thaw these loaves of bread and use them for bread crumbs?

    Reply
  12. Brenda T Bozeman

    How do you make the bread crumbs if I don’t have a food processor?

    Reply
    • Nancy

      You can push the dried bread through a sieve, or put then in a bag and pound them, use your hand or standing mixer and blend them, put them in your blender and blend them. Let me know which one you find works best for you.

      Reply
  13. joan daye

    Trisha, no need to be mean, not helpful, everyone has to start to learn somewhere, and fyi, not everyone has parents, or mom to teach, and some moms are not great cooks, we are all different, no one learns unless they ask questions, personally, I think it is great that we have the resources, we do today, and can look on internet for almost anything.

    Reply
  14. Janet

    Trisha. If you already know how to make breadcrumbs, why are you even on here?

    Reply
  15. Jack

    What is the soution if your chunks of stale sourdough are too hard for the food processor?
    Thanks!

    Reply
  16. Cathy Mills

    I loved helping my mom making bread crumbs for dressing.we used about 1 anhalf large size loafs bread pmy job was to put 4 pcs bread in toaster till brown she would break into small pieces while i kept toasting i miss helping my mother making oyster dressing im going to try it this yr hope it works if not memories will be there

    Reply
  17. Vic

    Thanks all, really helpful as my wife is a coeliac, and you wouldn’t believe how few supermarkets stock Gluten Free bread crumbs. So used this to make a batch from one of her loaves 🙂 it’s simple once you know!

    Reply

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