The One Thing You Need To Remember When Making Your Own Seasoned Breadcrumbs
Seasoned breadcrumbs are versatile, flavorful, and easy to make yourself. They flourish as the coating on breaded chicken cutlets, but they also make the perfect topping on baked pasta dishes and add a crunchy element to salads. And while you can buy a container of seasoned breadcrumbs from your local grocery store, homemade breadcrumbs put you in full flavor control.
There are two directions to go in when it comes to preparing breadcrumbs: seasoning them with fresh or dry herbs. While both have pros and cons, the most important thing to remember is that breadcrumbs that are made with fresh herbs have a shorter shelf life.
Either way, it doesn't take much effort to make breadcrumbs yourself. All you need is fresh or stale bread and your desired seasonings, plus the right storage container. And once you go homemade, it will be hard to go back to the store-bought version.
You can use fresh or dried herbs for breadcrumbs
You're in control when it comes to making breadcrumbs from scratch. You can use a hearty bread like sourdough or keep it healthier with whole wheat. Stale bread works well because it crumbles easily in a food processor, though you can crisp up fresh bread in the oven to get that crunch quickly.
You can go with either fresh or dried herbs. However, making a large batch of fresh-herbed breadcrumbs means you'll have to use them fairly quickly, as fresh herbs last no more than a couple of weeks once they're picked. If you plan to use all of the breadcrumbs in one shot, the easiest option is to slice the herbs, toast the bread, and ground the ingredients together in a food processor to help the bread absorb the herbs' flavor.
If you still want to use fresh herbs but won't use the breadcrumbs all at once, you can season the bread with salt and pepper and keep the plain breadcrumbs in the pantry. From there, simply add the fresh herbs as you're ready to use the crumbs.
What's the flavor difference between fresh and dried herbs?
Dried herbs are easy to use for breadcrumbs in terms of their shelf life. They keep for a long time, so using the crumbs quickly is not an issue. However, there will be a flavor difference between fresh and dried.
Dried herbs typically have a stronger, more concentrated flavor. If you're planning to use them in place of the fresh options, you'll almost always want to use less. Start with small measurements and build from there — you can always add more herbs to taste. Fresh herbs will have an earthier flavor, which is something to keep in mind as well.
Fresh herbs will give breadcrumbs a smoother texture, but the texture also varies depending on the type of bread you choose. Overall, it comes down to your texture preferences — neither fresh nor dried is a worse option than the other.