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Breadcrumb

Breadcrumb

Overview

Breadcrumbs or bread crumbs (regional variants: breading, crispies) are small particles of dry bread
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and possibly more ingredients. Doughs are usually baked in the Western world , but in some cuisines breads are steamed, fried, or baked on a hot skillet. It may be leavened or unleavened...

, which are used for breading
Breading
Breading is a dry grain-derived coating for a piece of food such as meat, vegetable, poultry, fish, shellfish, crustacean, seitan, or textured soy, etc., made from breadcrumbs or a breading mixture with seasonings. Breading can also refer to the process of applying a bread coating to a food...

 or crumbing foods, topping casserole
Casserole
A casserole, from the French for "saucepan," is a large, deep pot used both in the oven and as a serving vessel. The word casserole is also used for the food cooked and served in such a vessel, with the cookware itself called a "casserole dish"...

s, stuffing
Stuffing
In cooking, stuffing or dressing is a substance used to fill a cavity in another food item. Many foods are stuffed, including meats, vegetables, and fruits.-History:It is not known when stuffings were first used...

 poultry
Poultry
Poultry is the category of domesticated birds that people keep for the purpose of collecting their eggs, or killing for their meat and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as...

, thickening
Thickening
In cooking, thickening is the process of increasing the viscosity of a liquid either by reduction, or by the addition of a thickening agent, typically containing starch....

 stew
Stew
A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy.Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables , meat, poultry, sausages and seafood. While water can be used as the stew-cooking liquid, wine, stock, and beer are...

s, and adding inexpensive bulk to meatloaves
Meatloaf
Meatloaf is a meat dish consisting of ground meat , which is formed into a loaf shape and baked or smoked...

 and similar foods. They are documented in cookbooks as early as 1716. They are often confused with croutons, but are much smaller in size, akin to the size of common ants.

However, the crumb of bread also refers to the inner soft part, as distinguished from the crust, or "skin".

Dry breadcrumbs are made from very dry bread which has been baked or toasted to remove all remaining moisture, and may have a sandy or even powdery texture.
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Encyclopedia

Breadcrumbs or bread crumbs (regional variants: breading, crispies) are small particles of dry bread
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and possibly more ingredients. Doughs are usually baked in the Western world , but in some cuisines breads are steamed, fried, or baked on a hot skillet. It may be leavened or unleavened...

, which are used for breading
Breading
Breading is a dry grain-derived coating for a piece of food such as meat, vegetable, poultry, fish, shellfish, crustacean, seitan, or textured soy, etc., made from breadcrumbs or a breading mixture with seasonings. Breading can also refer to the process of applying a bread coating to a food...

 or crumbing foods, topping casserole
Casserole
A casserole, from the French for "saucepan," is a large, deep pot used both in the oven and as a serving vessel. The word casserole is also used for the food cooked and served in such a vessel, with the cookware itself called a "casserole dish"...

s, stuffing
Stuffing
In cooking, stuffing or dressing is a substance used to fill a cavity in another food item. Many foods are stuffed, including meats, vegetables, and fruits.-History:It is not known when stuffings were first used...

 poultry
Poultry
Poultry is the category of domesticated birds that people keep for the purpose of collecting their eggs, or killing for their meat and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as...

, thickening
Thickening
In cooking, thickening is the process of increasing the viscosity of a liquid either by reduction, or by the addition of a thickening agent, typically containing starch....

 stew
Stew
A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy.Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables , meat, poultry, sausages and seafood. While water can be used as the stew-cooking liquid, wine, stock, and beer are...

s, and adding inexpensive bulk to meatloaves
Meatloaf
Meatloaf is a meat dish consisting of ground meat , which is formed into a loaf shape and baked or smoked...

 and similar foods. They are documented in cookbooks as early as 1716. They are often confused with croutons, but are much smaller in size, akin to the size of common ants.

However, the crumb of bread also refers to the inner soft part, as distinguished from the crust, or "skin".

Dry breadcrumbs are made from very dry bread which has been baked or toasted to remove all remaining moisture, and may have a sandy or even powdery texture. They can be used to make a crisp and crunchy coating for fried foods (see breading
Breading
Breading is a dry grain-derived coating for a piece of food such as meat, vegetable, poultry, fish, shellfish, crustacean, seitan, or textured soy, etc., made from breadcrumbs or a breading mixture with seasonings. Breading can also refer to the process of applying a bread coating to a food...

). The breads used to make soft or fresh bread crumbs are not quite as dry, so the crumbs are larger and produce a softer coating, crust, or stuffing
Stuffing
In cooking, stuffing or dressing is a substance used to fill a cavity in another food item. Many foods are stuffed, including meats, vegetables, and fruits.-History:It is not known when stuffings were first used...

. Bread crumbs are most easily produced by pulverizing slices of bread in a food processor
Food processor
A food processor is a kitchen appliance used to facilitate various repetitive tasks in the process of preparation of food. Today, the term almost always refers to an electric-motor-driven appliance, although there are some manual devices also referred to as "food processors".Food processors are...

, using a steel blade to make coarse crumbs, or a grating blade to make fine crumbs. A grater
Grater
A grater is a kitchen utensil used to grate foods into fine strips or crumbs. Several types of graters boast different sizes of grating slots, and can therefore aid in the preparation of a variety of foods. They are commonly used to grate cheese and lemon or orange peel , and can also be used to...

or similar tool will also do.

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