Bread Fails (Or Why I Always Have Italian Bread Crumbs)

This, my friends, is a classic bread fail. I was experimenting and forgot to turn the oven on. Then it rose faster than I expected so the oven wasn’t hot enough so it started deflating before I got it into the oven. Sadness.

bread fail 🙁

Now I know that all y’all think I’m perfect, so I’m sorry to disillusion you. 🙂 But, ya know, stuff happens.

So, when life hands you bread fails what’s a girl to do? Make bread crumbs, of course! I seasoned these up with Italian herbs, because I have an awesome meatball recipe that I use them in, but you can always leave ‘em plain if you want to.

And it really doesn’t matter what kind of bread you use. I mix it up all the time. In fact, if you have heels or bits that have gotten a little old, throw them in the freezer until you have enough to make the breadcrumbs. Or, you could leave them out to dry and store them in a cupboard till you’re ready for them.

OK. On to the recipe!

I use all homegrown or organic herbs. What I don’t grow I like to get from Mountain Rose Herbs.

Italian Breadcrumbs

• 2 cups breadcrumbs
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp parsley flakes
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp dried basil
• ½ tsp onion powder
• ¼ tsp dried thyme
• ¼ tsp dried rosemary

I just broke the loaves in pieces and threw them in the blender. They were already pretty dry because I left them out on the counter for a few days. I let the blender run until the pieces were pretty small, then I shook it up to make sure no big pieces were being sneaky and hiding on the bottom. There were, so I ran it again.  🙂

crumb-ed bread

Then I shook it down so I could tell how many cups of crumbs I had. My recipe calls for 2 cups and I had 4 so I doubled my herbs. I just add them right into the blender. And run it again. That way the larger herbs like rosemary get chopped up smaller.

chop-ed herbs

Then you pour it into a shallow pan and smooth it out.

It’s like having your own personal sand table 🙂

Put it in a 250° F oven for 2 hours stirring every 30 minutes. This step does two things. It dries it out and gives it a pretty golden color. If you want to skip this step you can always toast the bread before you put it in the blender. Or just make sure it’s really dry.

happy and toasty

Let cool completely before putting in a storage container. I like to use canning jars because, well, I have a LOT of canning jars. And because it’s easy to tell what it is. I also use my vacuum sealer with the jar attachment to seal the lid. That way it stays fresh longer. If you don’t have one and the breadcrumbs get a little damp you can always put them back in the oven to dry them out again.

all sealed up and ready for the pantry

BONUS:

I may be the last person on the planet to have learned this trick, but in case I wasn’t…The absolutely easiest way to wash a blender or food processor bowl is to put some warm water and a drop or 2 or dish soap in it and turn it on. Run for a few minutes and rinse. Ta Dah!

You’re welcome! 🙂

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Italian Bread Crumbs

These Italian Bread Crumbs are super easy to make and store a long time. And you can use any old bread you happen to have on hand to make them with.

Course Pantry Staple

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 2 hours hours 6 minutes minutes

Servings 2 cups

Author Cery

Ingredients

• 2 cups bread crumbs
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp parsley flakes
• 1 tsp course grind black pepper
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp dried rosemary

Instructions

• Place all ingredients in blender and process until everything is a uniform size.
• Put in shallow pan and place in a 250 degree F oven for 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes.
• Let cool completely and store in a tightly sealed glass jar.

Notes

If you have old bread you want to use, make sure it's really dry and throw in the blender to grind it up.  Measure the amount of crumbs you have and adjust seasonings to taste.