Gluten Free Breading Help

Gluten Free Breading Help will get you excited about making crispy chicken strips, schnitzel, breaded fish, calamari and more. You can make them all gluten free and you’ve got lots of options. Dig in!

To make delicious gluten free breading you simply need an open mind and a willingness to try new things. Gluten free cooks are happy to hear that the general heading of breadcrumbs doesn't even need to include bread.

Suddenly, all the breaded foods you thought you could no longer enjoy are back on the list.

Store Bought Gluten Free Breadcrumbs

Even if you’re not new to gluten free there are always new products available and the amount of choice we have is overwhelming. Just keep going, one ingredient and one recipe at a time. Find the people sharing the information you want and keep cooking.

Here’s what I learned about store bought gluten free breadcrumbs:

• At some point you’ll likely buy some breadcrumbs you don’t like. Use them up and keep trying.
• Some packages of breadcrumbs are things you already have in your pantry. (I once bought breadcrumbs, because of the certified gluten free label, only to discover the ingredients were cornmeal and sugar.)
• Any breading can be used on anything so try it and pay attention to what you like.

Tips for Saving Scraps to Make Breadcrumbs

We pay good money for gluten free bread so use up every bit of it. Smart cooks save leftover ends of bread or even slices and single buns that never got used. I have an airtight BREADCRUMB container in the freezer that I add to as I go.

When I need breadcrumbs, or when that container is full, I make them. Here are a few ways I end up with scraps.

Scraps of bread leftover after making round croutons to top French Onion Soup or any similar use.

When I buy hot dog buns to make my Vietnamese Subs, they're a little too large for my liking. My trick is to slice a whole piece from the middle of each bun. They can be used as crostini or they end up as crumbs.

Cornflake Cereal for Breading

This is the Go-To breading recipe in my house that uses store bought gluten free cornflake cereal. I like to make more than I need so I always have some in my pantry. In the specific post, Breaded Pork Chops, I give more tips and tricks of how to get the breading to stick to the meat, what makes it crispy and even some seasoning variations so you can mix it up.

This breading is perfect to make breaded chicken strips or pork schnitzel. Think of it as plain breading and then add seasoning to go with what you're making.

Add Parmesan cheese and dried herbs to make the Italian breaded cutlet called Veal Parmigiana. Eggplant Parm is the vegetarian variation of this classic.

Cornmeal and Corn Flour in Breading

Breadcrumbs, actual crumbs from bread, are not the only choice for creating the breaded dishes you miss.

Cornmeal is another crunchy addition that can be used in breading. In my Sesame Baked Chicken there are no breadcrumbs at all but I added sesame seeds to the cornmeal. In this Mexican version of calamari I use corn flour and masa harina.

Nuts and Coconut in Breading

In my Hazelnut Lemon Halibut I add hazelnuts to the breading. I also make a Thai crispy chicken that has peanuts in the breading so consider including nuts to perk up a plain breaded recipe.

For my Coconut Shrimp I use a 3-step process like you would for batter but the final coating is simply shredded coconut. These ideas should get you thinking about recipes you miss or new ones you want to try.

Panko-Style Breadcrumbs

Panko-style breadcrumbs are made with crustless wheat bread using a specific process to create a flaky crumb rather than the typical finely crushed breadcrumbs. Apparently, the flakiness of Panko results is the absorption of less grease than regular breadcrumbs creating a lighter, crispier coating or a crunchier topping.

You need to be a foodie to actually care about those details and I've even heard of making panko breadcrumbs from scratch. That's not on my list of things to do but here are a few brands you can buy:

• Kinnickinick Panko Breadcrumbs
• Ian’s Panko
• Cheff Jeff Nathan Panko

I hope you're excited to see so many options and will try one of them soon. I'd love to hear about your experience with breading and what you've learned, let me know in the comments below.