Breading is the technique of coating food in a crumb of starch before baking, adding a crunchy texture and various tastes. The choice of starch is unlimited, and the food can be cooked in many ways, with the most common being frying. The breading is relatively dry and can be made from various starchy products. The standard breading procedure involves dusting with flour, dipping in egg, and dredging in breading.
The common term given to the technique of coating foods in a crumb of starch before baking is “breading.” It adds several dimensions of taste to food, with perhaps the most important being a crunchy texture. Day-old dry bread that has been pulverized into fine crumbs may be the most common, but the choice of starch for coating is nearly unlimited. It is often best guided by the choice of main food and the method, as well as the process, of cooking.
Breaded food can be cooked in many ways, the common denominators of which are the presence of fat and high temperatures. It is very popular to fry in butter to give a more textured crust than just a dusting of flour. A deep casserole-like skillet, topped with a layer of breadcrumbs and a drizzle of olive oil, will emerge from an appetizingly golden brown oven. The cooking most closely associated with breading, however, is deep-fried. In all of these methods, another common feature is that the coating is relatively dry, not a moist liquid that would otherwise be referred to as a batter.
The choice of food to be breaded is also almost unlimited. For frying, a bite-sized food such as small shrimp or mushrooms will become completely encased in a crispy shell. The same external texture combines well with contrasting soft foods, such as fish fillets or eggplant slices.
The breading is sometimes called crumbling, as nearly any starchy product that is ground into crumbs can be used for food coating. The classic is dry, stale, leftover bread ground very finely in an appliance. It is often mixed with dried or powdered herbs and spices. Other similarly treated starches include breakfast cereals and soda crackers. Other inventive options are crunchy cookies or potato chip snacks.
The popularity of this cooking technique is evident in many prepared mixes sold in the markets. There may be boxes of very spicy cornmeal or bags of honey-infused panko. The latter is a very popular bread-making product, in the shape of small, sharp flakes. Translated “bread flour” in Japanese, it absorbs less oil than other alternatives, resulting in a light, crispy crust that stays crunchy even when cooked food cools.
These professional chefs are taught this cooking technique simply as “SBP,” or standard breading procedure. The food to be cooked is first dusted with a thin layer of plain wheat flour. It is then dipped in a beaten egg, sometimes mixed with milk in a “wash”. Finally, it is “dredged” in the breading. Experienced cooks recommend one final step, which allows this breaded item to “rest” in the refrigerator for an hour before cooking.
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