Go Back
Golden panko-fried root vegetables made with homemade sourdough panko, topped with spring onion and flaky salt

Sourdough Panko — Light, Crisp Flakes from Scratch

Sourdough panko made from two-day-old bread — light, crisp flakes that fry up golden and shatter when you bite them.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
freezing 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Servings: 1 batch
Course: Basics
Cuisine: Japanese, Nordic
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • Sourdough bread two days old, crust removed — use whatever you have, half a loaf or a whole one

Equipment

  • Plastic wrap Wrap the crustless bread tight before it goes in the freezer, so it doesn't dry out or pick up freezer smells.
  • Coarse grater A Microplane coarse blade gives the light, flaky shreds panko needs — a box grater's largest holes work too.
  • Flat baking sheet A solid, flat sheet — not a perforated tray. The flakes are fine enough to fall straight through the holes.
  • Parchment paper Keeps the flakes from sticking and lets you tip the whole batch into a jar in one go.
  • Airtight container Dried panko keeps for weeks, but only if no moisture gets back in.

Method
 

  1. Remove the crust. Cut the crust off the bread. Save it — the crust is what turns panko brown, and we want these flakes pale. (Crusts make excellent bread chips another day.)
  2. Freeze. Wrap the crustless bread tightly in plastic and freeze for at least 1 hour. This is the step that makes the whole thing work: fresh or soft bread smears and gums up the grater, while frozen bread shears cleanly into flakes.
  3. Grate. Grate the frozen bread on the coarse side of a grater, letting the shreds fall onto a board or tray. Work in long strokes rather than short scrubs — you want ragged flakes, not fine crumbs.
  4. Dry. Line a flat baking sheet with parchment and spread the flakes over it in a thin, even layer. Dry in the oven at 195°F (90°C) until fully dry, usually 20–30 minutes, tossing once halfway through.
  5. Check the color, not the clock. The panko is done when a flake snaps cleanly between your fingers and is still pale — if it starts to turn golden, pull it out. Color here means it will burn before your food is cooked.
    Pale, flaky homemade sourdough panko on a green plate after drying in a low oven
  6. Cool and store. Cool completely on the tray, then store in an airtight container.

Notes

Chef's tip: the freezer is doing more work here than the oven. Straight from the freezer to the grater — don't let it thaw on the counter first. More on why in the post below.
Storage: fully dried and airtight, this keeps for several weeks at room temperature. If the flakes ever feel soft again, five minutes back in a low oven brings them around.