Coating with Bread Crumbs or Flour

To brown, sauté, or fry meat, fish, or vegetables it is necessary to have them as dry as possible on the outside, because when moist nothing can brown—it simply steams. One often uses a coating of bread crumbs or flour to dry the surface of the ingredient to be cooked. It is a simple procedure, basic to good Italian cooking, but, like many other simple techniques, it can be done badly and often is, even by professionals. The mealy texture of so many veal dishes and the thick bread coating that falls away are evidence of failure to observe fundamental principles of breading and flouring.