preserving bread crumbs

Julia Altshuler said:

We have an ongoing problem with bread at the wine and cheese shop where
I work. Enough customers want it and buy it to make it worth our while
to carry it, but we have to carry a quality product, and we can only get
that from a bakery some distance away. They deliver, but they only
deliver in quantity, and we frequently have bread leftover. We end up
throwing away a lot of stale bread. We'd like to order less, but then
they wouldn't deliver. We could order from another bakery, but their
bread isn't as good so we'd sell still less. We could order every other
day, but then it wouldn't be fresh. You get the idea.

The other day my boss had another idea: What if we made gourmet bread
crumbs? He asked how to make bread crumbs. My co-worker and I agreed
that it was a simple matter of breaking up the bread in a blender,
adding some dried herbs like basil and oregano, and spinning the
blender. I said we should toast the bread first; she said we didn't
even have to do that.

Two problems: First, we're not sure if our customers are in the market
for gourmet bread crumbs, but even beyond that, we're thinking the bread
crumbs would go bad. At home, I keep them in my freezer. If I don't,
they go moldy like any bread. At which point my boss asked about the
bread crumbs you buy in the store. What keeps them from getting moldy?
Good question, so I thought I'd ask all of you. Is it a matter of a
preservative that we could put in them? Or could we dry them enough in
the oven and sell them in a sealed container such that the mold wouldn't
be interested?

--Lia

In my experience (not an expert), they don't get moldy if they are
thoroughly dry before you crumb them up. Don't toast them - just lay
them out on racks and let them air dry. At home, sometimes this takes
2-3 days. I keep dried bread crumbs (no flavorings or herbs) around in
Ziplocs for a l-o-n-g time. If you want to add herbs and flavors, make
sure they are the dried variety, not fresh. For instance, you could
use some "Italian Seasoning," garlic powder, parsley flakes, and the
like.

If you have the means to toast bread (oven), why not make
"gourmet-flavored" croutons? Commercial croutons are sold for what I
think is an exhorbitant price. Cut the fresh or slightly stale bread
into 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch cubes, sprinkle with dried (note, DRIED)
herbs, some olive oil, and toast at a low temp (about 275 deg. F. or
so), stirring frequently or flipping them around with a spatula, until
they are totally dried through, and are golden brown in color. These
keep indefinitely. I always have some Caesar croutons in a container
on my kitchen shelves. I sprinkle with olive oil and then shredded
Parmesan cheese, toss them around and toast them until they are dry all
the way through. I just store them at room temperature, and have yet
to have any go bad in any way - right now, I think the batch I have
stored is about 4 months old. They have lost no flavor at all.

But the key in both cases, is DRY.

N.

"Nancy1" <[email hidden]> wrote in news:1141330861.487557.54990
@u72g2000cwu.googlegroups.com:

Quoted message said:

Julia Altshuler said:

We have an ongoing problem with bread at the wine and cheese shop where
I work. Enough customers want it and buy it to make it worth our while
to carry it, but we have to carry a quality product, and we can only get
that from a bakery some distance away. They deliver, but they only
deliver in quantity, and we frequently have bread leftover. We end up
throwing away a lot of stale bread. We'd like to order less, but then
they wouldn't deliver. We could order from another bakery, but their
bread isn't as good so we'd sell still less. We could order every other
day, but then it wouldn't be fresh. You get the idea.

The other day my boss had another idea: What if we made gourmet bread
crumbs? He asked how to make bread crumbs. My co-worker and I agreed
that it was a simple matter of breaking up the bread in a blender,
adding some dried herbs like basil and oregano, and spinning the
blender. I said we should toast the bread first; she said we didn't
even have to do that.

Two problems: First, we're not sure if our customers are in the market
for gourmet bread crumbs, but even beyond that, we're thinking the bread
crumbs would go bad. At home, I keep them in my freezer. If I don't,
they go moldy like any bread. At which point my boss asked about the
bread crumbs you buy in the store. What keeps them from getting moldy?
Good question, so I thought I'd ask all of you. Is it a matter of a
preservative that we could put in them? Or could we dry them enough in
the oven and sell them in a sealed container such that the mold wouldn't
be interested?

--Lia

In my experience (not an expert), they don't get moldy if they are
thoroughly dry before you crumb them up. Don't toast them - just lay
them out on racks and let them air dry. At home, sometimes this takes
2-3 days. I keep dried bread crumbs (no flavorings or herbs) around in
Ziplocs for a l-o-n-g time. If you want to add herbs and flavors, make
sure they are the dried variety, not fresh. For instance, you could
use some "Italian Seasoning," garlic powder, parsley flakes, and the
like.

If you have the means to toast bread (oven), why not make
"gourmet-flavored" croutons? Commercial croutons are sold for what I
think is an exhorbitant price. Cut the fresh or slightly stale bread
into 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch cubes, sprinkle with dried (note, DRIED)
herbs, some olive oil, and toast at a low temp (about 275 deg. F. or
so), stirring frequently or flipping them around with a spatula, until
they are totally dried through, and are golden brown in color. These
keep indefinitely. I always have some Caesar croutons in a container
on my kitchen shelves. I sprinkle with olive oil and then shredded
Parmesan cheese, toss them around and toast them until they are dry all
the way through. I just store them at room temperature, and have yet
to have any go bad in any way - right now, I think the batch I have
stored is about 4 months old. They have lost no flavor at all.

But the key in both cases, is DRY.

N.

N.,

I'm impressed! Nothing like a slice to turn into garlic bread with a
spaghetti dinner and a salad with croutons on the side, when not wine and
cheese tasting.

Brilliant!

Andy

Julia Altshuler said:

Two problems: First, we're not sure if our customers are in the market
for gourmet bread crumbs, but even beyond that, we're thinking the bread
crumbs would go bad. At home, I keep them in my freezer. If I don't,
they go moldy like any bread.

That's fresh bread crumbs; If you dry or toast them, they won't.

But make a product with high perceived value. I'm assuming that we're
talking about a crusted bread, like French baguettes or Italian bastoni.

If so, slice that bread into 1/4" slices and lay them out in a baking
sheet in a single layer. Spray them with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle
dried herbs on them. Toast them in a low oven (275-300) to dry the bread
and given them a slight brown color. Voila, breads for bruschetta,
crostini, soup croutons, dips, cheeses...

They present a much higher value than crumbs. Call them something unique
and bag them in paper. Give away samples and I bet you sell them pretty
well.

Make the crumbs with several kinds of breads so they don't directly
compete with the crumbs in stores.

Pastorio

Quoted message said:

At which point my boss asked about the
bread crumbs you buy in the store. What keeps them from getting moldy?
Good question, so I thought I'd ask all of you. Is it a matter of a
preservative that we could put in them? Or could we dry them enough in
the oven and sell them in a sealed container such that the mold wouldn't
be interested?

Julia Altshuler said:

The other day my boss had another idea: What if we made gourmet bread
crumbs? He asked how to make bread crumbs. My co-worker and I agreed
that it was a simple matter of breaking up the bread in a blender,
adding some dried herbs like basil and oregano, and spinning the
blender. I said we should toast the bread first; she said we didn't
even have to do that.

Two problems: First, we're not sure if our customers are in the market
for gourmet bread crumbs, but even beyond that, we're thinking the bread
crumbs would go bad. At home, I keep them in my freezer. If I don't,
they go moldy like any bread. At which point my boss asked about the
bread crumbs you buy in the store. What keeps them from getting moldy?
Good question, so I thought I'd ask all of you. Is it a matter of a
preservative that we could put in them? Or could we dry them enough in
the oven and sell them in a sealed container such that the mold wouldn't
be interested?

I never have problems with bread crumbs going bad. I have a basket on the
counter where I leave bits of bread to dry out. When the basket is full I
get out the food processor and grind the dried bread into crumbs. Then I
keep it in a zip lock bag in the cupboard.

One thing I have to wonder.... right now you are a wine and cheese vendor.
You might want to check your local laws to see if grinding up crumbs and
bagging them up for sale is going to make you subject to food processing
regulations.

Julia Altshuler said:

The other day my boss had another idea: What if we made gourmet bread
crumbs? He asked how to make bread crumbs. My co-worker and I agreed
that it was a simple matter of breaking up the bread in a blender,
adding some dried herbs like basil and oregano, and spinning the
blender. I said we should toast the bread first; she said we didn't
even have to do that.

That's called stuffing mix or bread crumbs, not croutons.

Cut into chunks, toss with olive oil, and herbs of choice and/or
Parmesan/Romano cheese and bake in a low oven.

If you sell a fair amount of bread, then I'd call up the company
and tell them you need smaller delivery or else you can't carry
it.

-sw

Bread crumbs are a good idea... but I think croutons would be a better
seller. You'd bake them in the oven like you were considering with
the crumbs.
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Julia Altshuler said:

We have an ongoing problem with bread at the wine and cheese shop where
I work. Enough customers want it and buy it to make it worth our while
to carry it, but we have to carry a quality product, and we can only get
that from a bakery some distance away. They deliver, but they only
deliver in quantity, and we frequently have bread leftover. We end up
throwing away a lot of stale bread. We'd like to order less, but then
they wouldn't deliver. We could order from another bakery, but their
bread isn't as good so we'd sell still less. We could order every other
day, but then it wouldn't be fresh. You get the idea.

The other day my boss had another idea: What if we made gourmet bread
crumbs? He asked how to make bread crumbs. My co-worker and I agreed
that it was a simple matter of breaking up the bread in a blender,
adding some dried herbs like basil and oregano, and spinning the
blender. I said we should toast the bread first; she said we didn't
even have to do that.

Two problems: First, we're not sure if our customers are in the market
for gourmet bread crumbs, but even beyond that, we're thinking the bread
crumbs would go bad. At home, I keep them in my freezer. If I don't,
they go moldy like any bread. At which point my boss asked about the
bread crumbs you buy in the store. What keeps them from getting moldy?
Good question, so I thought I'd ask all of you. Is it a matter of a
preservative that we could put in them? Or could we dry them enough in
the oven and sell them in a sealed container such that the mold wouldn't
be interested?

--Lia

--

Practice safe eating. Always use condiments.