Whole-Grain Wheat Bread - The Crumbs

Whole-Grain Wheat Bread - The Crumbs

As I travelled the world, spending time with many modest income families, I noticed that very little food went to waste. Bread was never wasted. If the bread became stale, it was turned into bread crumbs. These bread crumbs came into future meals in a wide range of ways. The bread crumbs became a basic ingredient in dishes such as rissoles and meatloaf. See earlier posts, starting with Australian Outback Rissoles (Oct. 25, 2010). The wide use of bread crumbs includes: a stuffing ingredient in stuffed peppers, a thickener for soups, an ingredient in the coating of fish and chicken before frying, a topping ingredient for casseroles and a part of the coating for baked vegetables. If you have whole-grain wheat bread, you have access to one of the tastiest and healthiest forms of bread crumbs. Some great uses for these whole-grain bread crumbs follow.

Crumb-Coated Roasted Potatoes

We grow and eat our own red-skinned potatoes. With the aid of a root cellar, these potatoes are available for most of the year.

Ingredients

 2 pounds red-skinned potatoes

1 cup whole-wheat bread crumbs

1/2 cup olive oil

4 tablespoons grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons dried parsley

Prepare the bread crumbs. I use a hand meat-grinder. For grinding bread crumbs the grinder is fast and  easy. I break the bread into 1 inch pieces and dry the pieces in a 200 degree oven for about 60 minutes. If the bread is dry, the bread crumbs will store well in a sealed mason jar.

These hand meat-grinders are great for many things. A safety note: this is a one-person job. The person placing the bread pieces in the hopper should be the same person turning the handle. This way, one person cannot grind another person's finger.

My grandmother used a rolling pin to crush the dry bread into crumbs. That was certainly a quick and safe way to make bread crumbs.

Cut the potatoes into 1/2 inch thick slices and toss them in a bowl with the olive oil until the potatoes are well coated. Place all the ingredients, except the potatoes, in a bowl and mix them well. Add the potatoes to the bowl and mix well until the potatoes are thickly coated.

Rub the baking pan with olive oil, add the potato slices, and bake in an oven preheated to 400. Check the potatoes for tenderness. They should be browned and cooked in about 30 minutes.

This coating recipe can be used for other vegetables, including squash, onions and carrots.