Breadcrumbs – make your own instead of tossing stale bread

Some folks prefer the convenience of buying ready-made breadcrumbs, but I like to make my own.  I simply save any bread ends or scraps that would otherwise get tossed in a brown paper bag in my cupboard.  When I need breadcrumbs, I just toss the now dried scraps into my food processor and let it run for a minute or so.  That way, I don’t waste food, and, because I use mostly whole wheat products, the breadcrumbs have more fiber than most store-bought ones.

You can also grind a batch ahead of time but I recommend storing these breadcrumbs tightly covered in the fridge so they won’t get rancid, at least if they are made with a portion of whole wheat bread.  While the WW breads stay stable when left to dry is slices or pieces,  grinding causes the  naturally occurring oils in the whole grains to b e exposed to air and light, which causes a chemical reaction leading to rancidity.