The soft and chewy texture of plump bagels has been delighting palates for over 6 centuries, but even the most devoted bagel lover can end up with extras. Whole freezing them is an option; using slightly stale bagels to make breadcrumbs gives them new life. Plain bagels can be used in just about any recipe, but flavored bagels give you the opportunity to get creative. Consider coating pork in crumbs from an apple bagel, or using onion bagel crumbs to coat chicken before frying it.

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

Tear or cut your bagels into pieces about the size of gaming dice. Keep the pieces as consistent in size as possible so they all shred at the same rate.

Place enough bagel pieces into a blender or food processor to fill it no more than one-quarter full. If you put too many in they will squish instead of shredding.

Pulse the blades until the breadcrumbs are as coarse or fine as you like them. Empty the blender or food processor and repeat until you have shredded all the bagel pieces.

Spread a thin layer of bagel crumbs onto a baking sheet. You may need more than one, or may have to toast them in batches, depending on how many bagels you have shredded.

Toast the bagel crumbs for 25 to 30 minutes, turning and stirring them occasionally with a spatula. You can speed this up by raising the oven temperature to 375 F and toasting them for 10 to 15 minutes, or slow it down by preheating the oven to 200 F and toasting the bagel crumbs for 45 to 60 minutes.

Let the bagel crumbs cool to room temperature and seal them in an airtight container or plastic zipper bag. Use them within a few days if you are storing them in the pantry, though they will keep for a week or longer if stored in the refrigerator.