Having your own fresh and dried breadcrumbs on hand is a very good thing! And it’s very economical too!
Fresh Breadcrumbs
Either White or whole wheat bread, crusts trimmed. Normally I freeze all my leftover bread for making crumbs so end up with a mixture of white and whole wheat.
Tear the bread into 1” pieces, place in processor and whiz until you have crumbs the size you like. I find that the bread does become warm in the processor, so it is better to take out the plunger before starting to make the crumbs.
Dry Breadcrumbs
Place the slices of bread on a large baking sheet and either let dry in a warm place naturally or place in a low oven 250 F until the slices are dried out. Cool. Break up into pieces and place in the food processor and whiz away until the desired texture is achieved. Sometimes I do them on the coarse side and if I need fine ones later, I place them in a freezer bag and go over them with a rolling pin.
I love toasted wholewheat crumbs on my spaghetti with cauliflower sauce along with a good sprinkling of Pecorino Romano instead of the more usual Parmigiano!
Toasted Bread Crumb Topping For Pasta
Preheat oven to 350 F. 3 ½” thick slices whole-grain bread or country style white bread, 2 Tbsp. EVO Sea salt to taste Cut bread into cubes, then grind to crumbs in a food processor. Spread in a shallow baking pan and bake in the middle of the oven, stirring occasionally, until golden, 10 – 15 minutes. Pour crumbs into a bowl, stir in the EVO and salt.
The Bread crumb topping can be used with other pastas as well. One of my favourite ones, besides cauliflower is ramp pesto spaghetti.
