Homemade Whole Wheat Panko Breadcrumbs.
Truth be told, I am a panko freak. Regular breadcrumbs don’t even do it for me anymore. So when I stumbled upon this method for homemade panko, I practically leapt with joy. It may be lacking in the butter and sugar department, but it is essential. I knew I needed to share it with you.
Panko can be quite expensive and the packages are so tiny that I can plow through an entire one while making a single batch of healthy chicken fingers. Now that I can make my own? I’m going to bread everything with panko. Get ready for panko breaded bacon.
This could not be more simple. All you do is cut the bread into strips, attach the “shredder” on your food processor and feed the bread through.
See how the crumbs are bigger?
Lay them on a baking sheet and bake until just crispy – but not brown.
And you have easy, quick whole wheat panko! I had no idea it was so simple.
makes about 3-4 cups
8 slices of 100% whole wheat bread
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Cut the bread into strips. Using the shredder attachment on your food processor, feed the bread into the machine. One you are done shredding, lay the crumbs out on a baking sheet. Bake for about 6-8 minutes, shaking and tossing every 2 minutes or so. You don’t want the crumbs to be brown, just crispy.
Last night I used these panko crumbs to make asiago breaded pork chops and we devoured them like we had never seen food before. Are you riding the panko train yet? If not, I really encourage you to try them. I have only had great success and absolutely love the texture they provide!
161 Comments on “Homemade Whole Wheat Panko Breadcrumbs.”
I love panko too, what a great idea to make it homemade.
Emma
TheSidewalkIsMyRunway
I am never buying breadcrumbs again! Thanks!
I don’t have a real food processor, so I can’t make these. BUT! I get gallon-sized plastic bags full of panko for $2 at the local Asian market, so I’m not too worried about it. They’re not whole-wheat, but that’s not a huge bother to me.
Genius! I wonder how well gluten-free bread would work…I’m thinking my gluten-free friends just might be able to experience the wonders of panko after all!
Just made some gluten free breadcrumbs from some brag I made and it turned out great. I’ll be making gluten free cheese sticks this weekend with them!
Wow that is super easy! I just used some pre-packaged panko tonight on fish. Pretty good!
Seriously, that’s IT?!?!
I’m speechless.
I had NO idea at all that’s all panko was. Here I am not knowing I’ve had panko before, let alone not even knowing what it looked like! (Can’t ever find it when I’m at the store!)
I almost had to laugh after reading this article. Everyone is so amazed. If you read it on the internet it must be true. Yet this is not how to make panko. This is how you make normal bread crumbs, that apparently might look a bit like panko, but definitely do not provide the same texture. But if you really can’t tell the differece – go for it . Altough I challenge everyone to prepare your recipe both ways (with real panko and this imitation) – for most recipes you will immediately taste a difference – hence why panko is preferred for so many recipes. Panko crumbs are toasted after applying the batter to a screen. It makes the crumbs very uniform, light, airy, yet dry – a texture that you will not recreate by shredding prepared bread in a food processor.
The only difference between regular large fluffy homemade bread crumbs and so called panko bread crumbs is that panko crumbs are without the crust. Cut the crusts off, continue as follows, and you have panko crumbs. Stop being so snobbish about it. I love crust, bring it on.
Ordinary bread crumbs are roundish and chunky in shape. Panko crumbs are long flat and thin – like tiny flakes or shards. That’s why panko crumbed foods look spiky – very different looking from standard bread crumbs. Because of their special shape, panko crumbs also absorb less oil which makes the food lighter and crunchier. So the magic in a panko crumb is the special crumb shape which needs a special process to make it. You can’t just make it at home.
Actually, the ‘batter’ is not applied to a screen. Panko is made by passing an electrical current through the bread dough to “bake” it without it getting a crust. It is then passed through a special screen grater to achieve its characteristic shape.
While this recipe may not result in true “Panko” crumbs, by varying the size of your crumbs, you can come up with a reasonable facsimile, I think. And yes, we’ll go for it since it’s much more fun and tasty than the traditional canned bread crumbs.
I am actually replying to James and anyone else who says ‘you can’t just make it at home’. Uh well why not? Even if the results aren’t quite the same. It’s probably something quite irrelevant like the shape. People make me laugh when they tell others that you can’t just do things at home. Do they think there is a special ingredient that only food factories can buy that joe public is never allowed to hear about? Where did our food recipes originate from? Home cooking! Apart from all the none real food stuff added to our food (which I don’t want in my food which is why I do it myself) we can do it just as well at home with some know how – most likely better! Too many people hand their power over to others thinking that they can’t do what ‘experts’ can. It’s ridiculous thinking.
Although I completely agree that this is just a recipe for normal breadcrumbs.
This is great. Thanks! I always have a hard time finding whole wheat panko and end up getting regular. Awesome news I can make my own.
Thanks for the tip! This will save me a ton of money.
Wow wow wow! Girl you’re brilliant. Thanks for this you saved me so much $ on CRUMBS, hahaha. Can’t wait to give this a go; I love that it’s whole wheat.
xo!
I love panko too…so much better than breadcrumbs! I’ll have to make my own…if I have a shredder attachement and if I can find it if I do…
What a neat trick! I am OBSSESSED with panko and will deifnitely be using this technique to make them. Thanks so much for sharing.
What an awesome idea! I have made whole wheat bread crumbs before but never even thought of trying this. We love Panko at our house, too. It gives the food such a great “fried” texture. Thanks for sharing!
WHOA this is awesome and brilliant and i can’t wait to try :)
Hi Jessica,
I wrote a post about Needing to seriously get active again the other day, and my SIL sent me a link to your blog. LOVE IT. In fact, I included a picture and link to this panko recipe/post. Thanks for sharing! I look forward to spending more time digging through your blog… already read quite a bit- in a very short amount of time! Love your recipes, humor, honesty, wit, and passion for writing, fitness, and food. If you want to see the post…
http://torriesessions.blogspot.com/2010/10/few-treats.html
I can’t wait to make the panko!
Thanks for sharing. This can be modified with gluten free bread, Flax bread. I’m making it tonight and using it in a eggplant parmesian recipe.
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These sound great! I planned on making some panko tonight for some Korean-style “wingz”.
THANKS SO MUCH !! I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW YOU HOW STORE THEM,,,FRIG? JUST A CONTAINER IN A PANTRY? HOW LONG DO THEY KEEP? THANKS AGAIN CAMILLE
I store mine in the pantry and have always used them within weeks before they could ever go bad!
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it seems you’re making regular breakcrumbs, not panko, and I say so because all recipes i’ve read tell that for panko the japanese remove the crust.
wow, I stand corrected…”Panko is made from bread baked by passing an electric current through the dough, yielding bread without crusts, and it has a crisper, airier texture than most types of breading found in Western cuisine.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panko
Hmm, I’ve heard of panko but never met it. This kinda looks like how I make ‘normal’ breadcrumbs – toast bread then grate! :)
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Do you ever add any herbs or seasonings to it?
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Love it!!! How long do you suppose it will hold up if made in advance?
They should hold up for a few weeks!
Panko is crustless. Cut the crust off before putting in the processor.
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where can I buy panko flakes..what supermarket carries this item..thanks
Can you toast them frst, then grate them? Seems to me if the bread is fresh it may not shred well, may be too soft too shred?? Any thoughts?
I don’t think, I think if you do it that way they will just crumble first instead of being the flakey, thicker panko-style.
OK thanks Jessica!
Panko can be crustless or with crust. It used to be an old wives tale to make kids eat their bread crust. However researchers have now proven there is MINIMAL nutrition left in the crust. So cutting away the bread crust can actually be more nutritious.
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Its easy to prepare Panko breading. Soak 4 sliced bread in 1 cup milk.Add 1 table spoon iiquid flour(1tbs flour mixed with 1/2 teaspoon sugar and 2 tbs water) Beat with an egg beater. Drain the milk and bake the flakes in the oven, on low temperature till the flakes become crisp. Use as required.