Julia Altshuler wrote:
> 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.