bread crumbs or breadcrumbs (regional variants: breading, crispies) are sliced residue of dry bread, used for breading or crumbing foods, topping casseroles, stuffing poultry, thickening stews, adding inexpensive bulk to soups, meatloaves and similar foods, and making a crisp and crunchy covering for fried foods, especially breaded cutlets like tonkatsu and schnitzel. the japanese variety of bread crumbs is called "panko".