Homemade Bread Crumbs
Homemade bread crumbs are so simple to make from scratch! Come learn how to make breadcrumbs, or Farinha de Rosca in Portuguese, as well as how to store and how to use it.
Bread crumbs, or farinha de rosca in Portuguese, are something we tend to purchase pre-made at the store, but they are so easy to make at home. Also, they’re a great way to not let old bread go to waste!
I grew up watching my mom make our own farinha de rosca at home. And now that I run my own household, I do the same. Besides, I always have an insane amount of bread at home. When I don’t eat it fast enough, there’s plenty of “old” bread laying around.
It breaks my heart to let perfectly good food go to waste, so I’m always thinking of ways to re-use or give new life to ingredients.
Turning old bread into breadcrumbs is one of my favorite tricks. I also love that with homemade bread crumbs, you can control how fine or how coarse your breadcrumbs are based on how you want to use them.
Besides, there are so many dishes you can use bread crumbs in to add texture, and once you know how to make them at home, you’ll never go back to the store-bought kind!
Check out these recipes that use breadcrumbs: Bean and Pasta Soup (Sopa de Feijão com Macarrão), and Banana Bread Cake (Bolo de Farinha de Rosca com Banana).
Tools to make homemade bread crumbs
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- Food processor
- Baking sheet
- Serrated knife
- Meat tenderizer
- Storage container, like ziploc bags or a large mason jar
Homemade Bread Crumb Variations
I leave my breadcrumbs plain because I use these in both sweet and savory applications, besides, classic farinha de rosca is usually just left plain anyway.
However, you can easily make variations on this breadcrumb recipe depending on the application.
- To make Italian bread crumbs, mix in a bit of dried Italian seasonings with salt and some garlic and onion powders. Stir it all up and give them a taste and adjust the seasonings as necessary.
- To make herbed breadcrumbs, mix in your favorite dried herbs like basil, sage, thyme, rosemary or a combination of those with the crumbs.
- To make whole wheat bread crumbs, use whole wheat bread instead of your run-of-the-mill white bread.
How to make breadcrumbs
I have two separate ways to make breadcrumbs. One from stale, old bread, and another for not-so-stale or even fresh bread!
How to make bread crumbs with fresh bread
If you’re using bread that’s softer than stale bread, you will need to do a little more work.
First, slice the bread into bite sized pieces, then bake at a low temperature (around 300F) to dry it out. It will take about 15 to 20 minutes to get the bread chunks dried out, depending on how fresh the bread is.
When it’s done, toss the bread into the food processor and blend it up until it’s at the desired texture before storing.
How to make bread crumbs with old bread
If you’re using old, hard bread, this process is even easier.
Since the bread is stale, use a meat tenderizer to break it down, then drop the bread chunks into the food processor.
Grind them up until the desired texture before storing.
What is the perfect texture of a bread crumb?
YOU decide!! The best texture will depend on how you’re going to use the bread crumbs!
Sometimes, you want them to be super fine (which is the typical farinha de rosca texture) in order to coat something like breaded chicken. Other times, you want them to be chunkier to add extra texture to things like mac and cheese.
The beauty in making your own bread crumbs is you have complete control over the final texture of the crumbs!
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use any type of bread you’ve got. You can even use a combination of breads you have at home like French, hamburger/hotdog buns, whole wheat, whole grain, sourdough, focaccia, even bread crusts. Seriously—the sky is the limit!!
Technically, yes, the can go bad. We dry out the bread thoroughly for this recipe, though, so they should last a few months easily if stored on an airtight container in a cool, dry place.
You can store these bread crumbs in an airtight container, like a mason jar, or a storage bag in a cold, dry place, or store them in the freezer for up to three months.
Breadcrumbs are wonderful to use in all kinds of cooking! They work as both texture and a binder in recipes like meatballs and meatloaf while they are a delicious topping in other recipes, like macaroni and cheese, or even salads and soups.
What are some recipes that use homemade bread crumbs?
Any recipe that calls for bread crumbs or farinha de rosca can use homemade bread crumbs! Here are some of my favorite ones…
- Bean and Pasta Soup (Sopa de Feijão com Macarrão)
- Banana Bread Cake (Bolo de Farinha de Rosca com Banana)
- Ground Beef and Sausage Meatballs
- Baked Asparagus with Parmesan
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Homemade Bread Crumbs
Instructions
How to make make bread crumbs from fresh bread
- Slice the bread into bite sized pieces. Place it on a baking sheet.
- Preheat the oven to 300F/148C. Bake the bread pieces for 15-20 minutes, or until they're dried out. This will depend on how fresh the bread is.
- When it's done, toss the bread into the food processor and blend it up until it's at the desired texture before storing.
How to make bread crumbs from old, stale bread
- Use a meat tenderizer to break the bread down into smaller chunks.
- Place the bread chunks in the food processor.
- Grind them up until the desired texture before storing.
Video
Notes
- This recipe makes 1.5 cups of bread crumbs. Store them in an airtight container (a mason jar or a plastic zip-top baggie) in the pantry or another place that’s dark and cool. They will last for a good long while since the bread has been totally dried out.
- If you want to make whole wheat bread crumbs, simply use whole wheat bread in place of the bread you see in this post. It works the same!
This is perfect for me because I live in mountains and my bread gets rock hard so fast. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve throw out partial loaves of bread. From now on I’ll be making bread crumbs and storing them!
I love this! It’s so easy, and I never knew I could make my own bread crumbs.
This just saved me from heading to the store to buy bread crumbs for my shrimp bisque! I had some sourdough bread ends that had to go, thank you !
I’ve always wanted to know how to make homemade breadcrumbs and these came out exactly as I was hoping! Just the right texture for the chicken we were making. I’m bookmarking this!
This was so easy and the perfect way to use up stale bread. I would never have thought to do this had I not found this recipe.