My bread basket always seems to have the tail end of a loaf or two going stale. It sort of kills me to toss quality bread in the compost. When I don’t have the time or wherewithal to work it into a meal — French toast, a savory bread pudding, croutons for a salad – I made quick breadcrumbs, which I keep stored in a sealed bag in the freezer. All you need is a food processor, though a box grater or a food mill work as well.
Cut the odds and ends of bread into pieces the size of a toddler’s fist or smaller. Put them into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and let it run, pulsing from time to time, until the bread is pulverized to bits. If you want to make bread crumbs using a fresh loaf, toast it lightly before you process it. Then, into a sealed bag go the bread crumbs to be stored in the freezer.
When you are ready to use the breadcrumbs, pull them out of the freezer and season them any which way you like: salt, pepper, herbs, grated cheese, and so forth.
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