# 8 Bread Crumbs

With all this wonderful homemade bread that I have been making, I am often left with the crusty ends that are perfect for fresh moist bread crumbs. Most of the time, when I need bread crumbs in a recipe I grind them up fresh instead of using them dry. I just think that moist bread crumbs work really good in my meat loaf and turkey burger recipes. So here is what I do......

I use a small coffee grinder that I originally purchased for grinding flax seed. I use it only for bread and flax seed. They are inexpensive and if you need one for spices....I would keep a separate grinder for that purpose.

I just chunk up my crusty bread "ends," grind them up...takes a few seconds.....then dump them into a bowl. I use what I need for my recipe and put the rest into a zip freezer bag and pop it in the freezer to use for another recipe. Hardest part is remembering I have some ready in the freezer:)

If you wanted to have dried crumbs like you buy in the store,  you could process a whole (day old) loaf of bread through a food processor with the grater disc. Lay the breadcrumbs on a baking sheet and bake them in a 350 degree preheated oven for 20-30 minutes...make sure to check every 10 minutes and shuffle them around a few times during the baking. Allow time to cool before storing. With this method you still need to store in the freezer for about 6 months. You can use directly from the freezer. Got this method from "The Homemade Pantry" book.

As an added bonus I will include links to my favorite turkey burger (I do not add the cheese or scallions when I make them....I substitute in 1 egg, parsley flakes and extra garlic) and meat loaf recipes  (I use 1/2 cup bread crumbs in place of bread slices.) Both from Martha Stewart.

#2 Wheat Bread

So next is the wheat bread....I have to admit I've only tried this recipe one other time and I was really pleased with it....so I know it was a keeper. But the first time I tweeked the recipe a bit by making the wheat/white flour ratio- 3/1 (the recipe calls for 4 cups of wheat.) This time I did 2 cups of each, just to keep it from getting too dense. I kept everything else the same from the original recipe. The product, I'm sure tastes great...but it's not as pretty. I think I had too much yeast....1 Tb. of bread machine yeast is appropriate for 100% wheat, but probably too much for half and half. Oh well..the house still smells amazing.

Wheat Bread

1 1/3 c. water
1/4 c. oil
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 tsp. salt
4 cups wheat flour (or 3 cups wheat & 1 cup white bread flour)
1 Tb. bread machine yeast

 

Like I said above...I did half and half, but I will probably go back to 3/1 unless the taste is really sooo much better.
So is it worth the time? It did take me just a bit more time cause my wheat flour was in the freezer...meaning I had to let it come to room temp before adding it to the pan. If I make wheat bread more often, I will not have to keep my wheat flour in the freezer. So it's worth the little extra time but since making the white loaf yesterday I have realized if we stopped buying bread altogether....I would have to make a loaf EVERYDAY for my family of 7. So we will see if that is possible and still cost effective. I must add though that my kids really do not like sandwiches...but they do if I use homemade bread, so it might be worth the extra effort just for that fact!

#1 White Bread

I decided to start this adventure off with bread. My family of 7 eats a lot of bread....for breakfast, lunch and dinner....especially when a yummy bowl of soup is involved. I have been working on making a great loaf of bread for a little while now. So it was a perfect food to start with. But...here is where my busy life realism comes in....I use a breadmaker. I know if I had to do this by hand, every day...I just wouldn't do it. But this yummy 2 pound loaf of white bread took me all of 5-6 minutes and voila.....the house smells amazing and it will take all my will power to stretch this loaf out for two days...cause my family loves it. Well, lets see of sweet hubby can get used to using it for sandwiches EVERYDAY....we shall see.

Recipe for 2 pound loaf of White Bread

1 1/4 cups warm water
3 Tb. oil
3 Tb. sugar
2 tsp. salt
4 cups bread flour
2 tsp. bread machine yeast

That's it! I love how there are very few ingredients and I always have them on hand! Yummy bread in 3 hours. Of course every bread machine is different...so follow your machine's instructions and recipes.

So....would I make bread instead of buying...I sure would love to try. It is a matter of fitting it into my morning routine every other day. In my opinion, the taste, time and low cost are worth it. I have a wheat recipe too...I will blog that one another time.