From scratch · Pantry mixes
Dry breadcrumbs
Day-old bread dried in a low oven and ground: the plain crumbs for meatloaf and breading.
✋ 10 min hands-on
⏱ 45 min start to finish
🍽 About 1⅓ cups (about 5 oz) from 8 slices.
ContainsWheat.
Ingredients
- 8 slice sandwich bread, white, day-old is best; any bread or crusts work
Time
Hands-on time is when you’re busy; the rest is rising, simmering, chilling or cooling, when you can do something else.
| Step | Hands-on | Waiting |
|---|---|---|
| Tear the bread | 5 min | – |
| Dry at 300°F | – | 20 min |
| Cool and grind | 5 min | 15 min |
| In all | 10 min | 35 min |
How long it keeps
- Pantry: airtight once completely cool. NDSU gives dried bread crumbs about 6 months; if yours aren’t bone-dry, freeze them instead.
- Freezer: in a bag, use straight from the freezer.
Nutrition
Estimated from the ingredients’ USDA FoodData Central numbers.
Steps
You’ll need: baking sheet, food processor or blender (or a zip-top bag and rolling pin).
- Heat the oven to 300°F. Tear the bread into pieces and spread them on a baking sheet.
- Bake 15 to 25 minutes, stirring once, until completely dry and crisp all the way through and only lightly golden.
- Cool, then grind in a food processor or blender, or crush in a bag with a rolling pin. Sift out big pieces for fine crumbs.
- Italian-style: stir in 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning and ¼ teaspoon garlic powder.
⚖️ Scaling8 slices of sandwich bread make about 1⅓ cups. Dry them in a single layer; crowded crumbs steam instead of drying.
Good to knowUses store or homemade bread; the planner counts the slices.
Sources
- Food Storage Guide (FN579), NDSU Extension, reviewed January 2023. Accessed 2026-10-25.