Panko Breadcrumbs are a Japanese product that’s become popular, due in large to TV Shows like Masterchef. I refuse to buy it as it contains palm oil which I try to avoid in my food. It’s also overpriced and so easy to make at home.
My mum used to make dried breadcrumbs from left over white bread and no one thought it was anything special, so why is Panko so?
I found a really interesting video onYouTube from UpperCrust Bakery somewhere in the US. Panko simply means small pieces.
The history of Panko isn’t thousands or even hundreds of years. It was developed during WWII when the Japanese were fighting the Russians. They wanted to bake bread without heat, so created a method that used electric current.
The bakery in the video makes it this way today, using only electric current which has little heat, but still cooks the bread. The dough is risen three times. It comes out of the special ovens white and crustless, before being air dried for 18 hours and then made into breadcrumbs.
Fascinating! I bet the original Japanese version didn’t have palm oil as they wouldn’t have had access to it. I imagine they would have used something like rice bran oil.
The reasoning behind Panko’s popularity is the fact that it’s flaky rather than crumbly, so doesn’t soak up as much oil as regular crumbs. It lacks any flavour, so is a good vehicle to carry other flavours.
I’m sticking with Mum’s tried and true slow dried breadcrumbs from ordinary white bread. I don’t eat white bread, but buy it for my husband. Why is that most men prefer white bread? To me, it’s like glue.
So, here’s how to make your own Panko-style breadcrumbs.
It hardly needs a recipe. Break up some bread and put in Thermomix bowl.
Crumble on speed 4 to 5 for a few seconds at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
Place on baking trays lined with a silicone mat (for ease of transferring to a jar).
Bake on 100C for about two hours or until completely dried out and crisp.
Use mat and a large funnel to transfer to a clean, dry glass jar. Store in the pantry.
That’s it!
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 100C.
- Line one or two baking trays with silicone mats or baking paper.
- Add the bread to the Thermomix bowl.
- Mix on speed 4 - 5 for a few seconds at a time, until lightly crumbled.
- Spread out on trays in a thin layer.
- Bake until crisp and dried, about two hours or so.
- Allow to cool and use mats to funnel into a glass jar.
- Store in the pantry.
Notes
Use as a coating for fish or chicken or to top casseroles and mornays.
Mix with melted butter for extra crispiness.
