In every Italian fridge there will be a jar of dried breadcrumbs, an essential ingredient in many dishes. Breadcrumbs are used to thicken sauces, as in salsa verde, to scatter on gratin dishes to form a thin crust, and sprinkled into buttered tins to prevent cakes from sticking. They are also added to most stuffed dishes, while in southern Italy they are sometimes used instead of grated cheese in pasta dishes.
Dried breadcrumbs should be made with good-quality white bread which is coarse in texture. White bread is best because breadcrumbs should be tasteless as they are used as a background to other ingredients. To make the breadcrumbs, break the bread into small pieces and toast them in the oven. The pieces are then processed until they become crumbs. The breadcrumbs should be stored in the fridge in an airtight container, but they should not be kept for longer than two months. I always make a lot of breadcrumbs, fill one jar and put the rest in another jar in the freezer, where they will keep for several months.