Paniermehl
I’m a big bread eater.
I love eating bread, making bread, the smell of baking bread.
I love buns, braids, loaves, slices, sandwiches, stratas, Sturms, my daughter’s abandoned crusts, crumbs, crostini, croutons, toast, paninis, puddings, Broisi, Vogelheu, french toast (with so much maple syrup)…
I love the Swiss German word Brösmeli, which means breadcrumbs.
Me in baking school, circa 2007
But lots of bread means lots of leftovers (see below for my collection of leftover bread recipes).
One easy solution is Paniermehl, breadcrumbs. It’s easy and the crumbs can be kept it in the freezer if you don’t plan to use them right away.
And here’s another bread-related thing I love:
The beautiful book Swiss Bread, by my friend Heddi at Cuisine Helvetica.
(Although the bread in her book is so delicious that you might eat it all before it gets turned into breadcrumbs.)
stale bread
Preheat the oven to 150 C / 300 F / gas mark 2.
Slice your bread and place it in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Bake for about ten minutes, or until the bread is dried out, flipping halfway through.
Let cool, then process in a food processor, using an immersion blender with a grinding attachment (see Bamix, above), or you can place the dried bread into a plastic bag and press it into crumbs using a rolling pin.
Stored airtight, it keeps for 2-3 weeks.
You want to dry out the bread rather than really toast it. It’s best to take it out while it’s still pale, but a little bit golden is also ok.
You can freeze your breadcrumbs. I keep mine in a tupperware and scoop them out as needed.
The same principle works for croutons—simply cut the bread into cubes, toss with a little olive oil, herbs, salt and pepper, spread on a baking sheet and bake until dried out and crispy.
