Bread Crumbs

I use bread crumbs a lot, and I like the fact that I can salvage another use from the dried out chunks of bread that lurk in the back of our bread drawer.

If you have bread that's getting past its prime, slice it and leave out on the counter for a few days to dry out completely (if you need some right away put the slices in the oven until they dry out). You can store these dry slices almost forever, and sometimes I want chunks instead of crumbs (like for thickening ribollita), so I tend to keep a few around.

But the crumbs take up a lot less room. Break up the dried slices a little and process until you have crumbs (this is noisy). If you don't have a food processor, you can put the slices in a few layers of plastic bag and smash them with a mallet or rolling pin.

I store the crumbs in the freezer, but they can also just go in the cupboard in an airtight container. They must be completely dried out, though, ot they might mold.