Email to Magnolia Lane      

Recipe Categories: Magnolias's HOME PAGEAPPETIZERS BBQ BEANS-SPUDS-YAMS BEEF BEVERAGES BREAD BREAD-MACHINE BREAKFAST CAKESandPIES CAMPING CANDY CASSEROLES CHEF-TIPS-HINTS COOKIES CROCKPOT DESSERTS DIABETIC EGGS EMERILS FISHandSEAFOOD FONDUES FROZEN_DESSERTS FRUIT JAM-JELLY-PICKLES_ETC LOW-CARB LOWFAT MARINADES MEATLESS MEATS MEXICAN NON-FOOD-ITEMS ORIENTAL OTHER-ETHNIC-FOODS OTHER_MEATS PASTA-and-RICE PASTRIES PET-TREATS PIZZA PORK POULTRY PRESSURECOOKER RICE SALADS_ETC SANDWICHES SAUCES SIDE_DISHES SNACKS SOUPSandSTEWS SPECIAL-DAYS SPICES-RUBS-MIXES-SUBSTITUTES VEGETABLES VEGETARIAN

Make Your Own Bread Crumbs




Source of Recipe


Grandpoohbah
Equivalents:

1 cup fine dry breadcrumbs = 4 slices bread
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs = 3 slices bread

Notes: These are used for breading foods, topping casseroles, stuffing poultry, thickening stews, and adding inexpensive bulk to meatloaves, hamburgers, and fish cakes.

Dry breadcrumbs are made from very dry bread, and make for a crispy, crunchy coating for fried foods. The bread that's used to make soft or fresh bread crumbs isn't as dry, so the crumbs produce a softer coating, crust, or stuffing.

Almost any bread can be used to make breadcrumbs, but crusty French or Italian bread works especially well.

To make your own:
Use stale (but not moldy) bread, or bake bread slices in a slow oven (200°) until slightly dry (for fresh bread crumbs) or very dry (for dry bread crumbs), and allow to cool. Process the slices in a food processor, using a steel blade to make coarse crumbs, or a grating blade to make fine crumbs. Season with salt, herbs, garlic powder, onion powder, and/or lemon zest if you wish.

Substitutes:
panko (This is especially good with seafood; it has larger crumbs, stays crisp longer, and is considered better than ordinary bread crumbs.)

OR cracker crumbs (3/4 cup cracker crumbs = 1 cup bread crumbs)

OR croutons (crushed) OR stuffing (crushed)

OR cornflake crumbs OR matzo meal OR other unsweetened cereal flakes OR potato flakes

OR rice cakes (crushed)

OR high-fiber cereal (as a nutritious topping or filler)

Breading Notes:
Breading adds a crisp coating to fried foods. Breadcrumbs are most commonly used, but crumbs from crackers, breakfast cereals, melba toast, matzos, pretzels, and corn chips also work well. To bread meat and seafood, first dry the pieces completely, then dust them with a light coating of flour. Next dip them in a mixture of eggs mixed with a little milk, water, or oil, then dredge the pieces in the breading. Refrigerate them for about an hour before frying them.

cake crumbs ~ To make your own:
Crumble leftover cake (without frosting) or a store-bought pound cake.

Substitutes: breadcrumbs
chocolate wafer crumbs ~ To make your own:
Crumble store-bought chocolate wafers (Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers is a popular brand)

Substitutes:
Oreo cookie (Crush these, filling and all, in a food processor fitted with a metal blade.)

OR graham cracker crumbs OR vanilla wafer crumbs coating mix

Notes: Time-challenged cooks toss chicken pieces or pork chops into bags filled with this seasoned crumb mix, then place them on a pan and bake them. Shake 'N Bake® is a popular brand.

Substitutes: cornflake crumbs (Add salt, paprika, onion powder, pepper, and other seasonings if you wish.)

OR breadcrumbs OR cracker crumbs

cornbread crumbs = corn bread crumbs = crumbled cornbread = crumbled corn bread

Notes: This is used to bread or stuff poultry and fish. Packaged cornbread crumbs are available in the baking supplies section of many supermarkets, or you can make your own by crumbling cooled cornbread.

Substitutes:
breadcrumbs cornflake crumbs = crushed cornflakes Equivalents: 3 cups whole cornflakes = 1 cup crushed

Notes: This is used as a colorful breading for meat and fish, and as a topping for casseroles. You can buy cornflakes already crushed, or buy whole cornflakes and crush them yourself.

To make your own: Put cornflakes in a plastic bag and crush using a rolling pin. Three cups of whole cornflakes yield one cup of cornflake crumbs.

Substitutes: breadcrumbs (dry and fine)
OR panko

OR cornmeal

OR cracker meal

OR melba toast (crushed and tossed with oil)

OR other breakfast cereal flakes (crushed)

OR corn chips (crushed)

OR coating mix

OR pretzels (crushed)


cracker meal = cracker crumbs = crushed crackers

Notes: These crushed crackers are used as a breading for meat and fish. When the food is fried, the crumbs provide a crunchy coating. Look for it in the baking goods section of your supermarket, or make your own by putting crackers in a plastic bag and crushing them with a rolling pin.

Substitutes:
breadcrumbs

OR panko

OR matzo meal

OR cornflake crumbs

farfel Pronunciation: FAR-full

Notes: Jewish cooks use the term farfel to refer to matzo or noodles that have been broken into small pieces.

Substitutes:
egg barley

OR cracker meal

OR crunchy chow mein noodles (crushed)

gingersnap crumbs

Notes: These are used for pie crusts and to sprinkle on desserts. Markets occasionally carry these crumbs, but you'll probably have to buy whole gingersnaps and crush them yourself.

Substitutes:
graham cracker crumbs

OR chocolate wafer crumbs

OR vanilla wafer crumbs


graham cracker crumbs

Equivalents: 14 crackers = 1 cup crumbs.

Notes: These mildly sweet crumbs make a terrific cheesecake or pie crust. Look for the crumbs in baking supplies section, or buy whole graham crackers and crush them yourself. Many markets also carry readymade graham cracker pie crusts.

Substitutes:
Vanilla wafer crumbs (These are sweeter, so add a bit less sugar to the crust mixture.)

OR chopped nuts (1 cup graham cracker crumbs + 1 cup sugar = 1 1/2 cup chopped nuts + 1/8 cup sugar)

OR chocolate wafer crumbs

OR zwieback crumbs (works well in cheesecakes)

matzo meal = matzoh meal

Notes: Jews use this during Passover to make pancakes, matzo balls, and other dishes. Many stores also carry matzo cake meal, which is a finer grind of matzo meal.

To make your own:
Grind broken matzos in a food processor (using a steel blade) until they're ground into a coarse flour. 3 matzos = 1 cup matzo meal.

Substitutes:
bread crumbs

OR cracker crumbs

panko = panko bread crumbs = panko breadcrumbs = Japanese bread crumbs = Japanese breadcrumbs = Japanese style breadcrumbs = Japanese style bread crumbs Pronunciation: PAN-koh

Notes: Panko breadcrumbs have a coarser texture than ordinary breadcrumbs, and they make for a much lighter and crunchier casserole topping and coating for deep-fried foods. They're especially good for breading seafood. Tan-colored panko is made from the whole loaf, white panko from bread with the crusts cut off. Look for both kinds in the Asian foods section of larger supermarkets.

Substitutes: breadcrumbs (not as coarse, doesn't stay crisp as long) OR cracker meal

OR melba toast (crushed)

Shake 'N Bake See coating mix.

stuffing = dressing = stuffing croutons

Notes: This is usually put inside a whole turkey to absorb flavorful juices while the bird roasts, but it can also be baked in a casserole dish. It's usually made of small bread cubes or shredded pieces of bread that have been dried. Commercial stuffing is convenient, but not as fresh-tasting as homemade stuffing.

To make your own: Slice bread into 1/4" cubes, place them on a baking sheet, and bake in a 300° oven until they're crisp and dry.

Substitutes:
breadcrumbs (coarse)

OR croutons

OR cornbread crumbs (softer consistency)

OR rice

OR potatoes

sweet biscuit crumbs

Substitutes:
graham cracker crumbs

vanilla wafer crumbs

Equivalents: 22 wafers = 1 cup crumbs.

Notes: These are often used to make pie crusts. To make them, place vanilla wafers in a heavy plastic bag, seal, then crush the wafers with a rolling pin.

Substitutes:
graham cracker crumbs

OR chocolate wafer crumbs

OR Oreo cookie (Crush these, filling and all, in a food processor fitted with a metal blade, and omit additional sugar, if any, in crust recipe.)

OR crushed gingersnaps