Animal, Nature, and Travel: Taste-bud Journey: Dehydrating Bread Crumbs in Oven

During the pandemic, I am taking taste-bud journeys as I self-isolate rather than physical journeys. Here is my adapted recipe for dehydrating bread crumbs using the oven. It was inspired by some blog posts I read and some YouTube tutorials I viewed.

After my bread crumbs were completed, I decided to season them before I sealed them into two Ziploc bags.

One bag will be used for a future meatloaf I plan to make sometime very soon. Since I like to add onion and parsley as part of that recipe, those are the two spices I selected for seasoning.

The other bag will be used for when I plan to make fried zucchini chips. I thought that onion and parsley would be quite flavorful in that recipe.
I added an Oxygen Absorber packet into that second bag as I'm not sure how soon I intend to make the zucchini chips. That way, my bread crumbs will have less chance to mold and go bad.

Recipe

Two-thirds of a loaf of homemade bread.
Please note: One blogger suggested that you could use the end pieces on bread loafs that often go to waste, old bagels, and bread that is starting to go stale. That way, nothing goes to waste.
Seasoning of your choice. I chose 2 tbsp of onion flakes and 2 tbsp of parsley flakes.

Please note: You don't have to season the bread crumbs. That is simply an option that you might want to consider.

Procedure

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350° F.

Step 2: Cut up the pieces of bread you intend to use into a few pieces that will easily fit into a blender. Ideally, the pieces could be about 2 inches by 3 inches or smaller.

Step 3: Fill the blender only one-quarter full. Blend for 30 seconds to a minute until the bread has transformed into soft crumbs. Pour them into a large bowl. Then, repeat this process until all your bread has been reduced to soft crumbs.

Step 4: Spread those soft crumbs onto two cookie sheets.

Step 5: Place the two cookie sheets into the oven. Set the timer for 15 minutes.

Step 6: At 15 minutes, rotate the pans by placing the lower cookie tray onto the upper rack and vice versa. Stir up the crumbs. Lower the temperature to 300° F. Then, set the timer for an additional 15 minutes.

Step 7: Turn off the oven and allow those two cookie sheets to cool completely inside the oven.

Step 8: Scoop the bread crumbs into a quart-size Ziploc bag - one bag per tray.

Step 9: Either leave the bread crumbs plain or add in any seasoning you may desire.

Step 10: Seal the bags, label, and date them. Now, you have bread crumbs ready for future recipes.

Please note: If you don't plan to use the bread crumbs any time soon, it would be advisable to place a food-grade Oxygen Absorber into the bag.

Please also note: One blogger suggested to do something that is known as CONDITIONING THE CRUMBS. As I understand it, you would take the bag and shake it and check it every couple of days to make certain there is no sign of mold. She also suggested that if the bread seems at all moist, you could pop it back into the oven for additional drying time.

Cooking Sites that have inspired me:

Books written by Debbie Dunn:

Here is the Amazon Link to all anti-bullying curriculum books plus all children’s books written by Debbie Dunn (both paperback and Kindle). It will open up in a new window.