How to Make Ground Bay Leaves. Just a couple of reasons, easy to make, and very convenient to use. Plus you won't have to fish the cooked bay leaf out of your finished dish ever again if you don't want to!
I remember all those little shaker tins of ground herbs and spices in my Mom's spice cupboard. There seemed to be an awful lot of them. And when I was asked to bring over a certain spice, I had to read the name of each spice carefully, to select the right one. Because to my 8-year-old eyes, they all looked the same on the shelf where they were kept! I don't remember jars of whole spices, but I do remember all the little red tins on the spice shelf.
It was routine for my mom to make up a batch of seasoned flour for the times she made Fried Chicken for dinner. The seasoned flour included salt, pepper, paprika, thyme, and a dash of Ground Bay Leaves. As a child I used to think, how does she know to do this? But the chicken was always delicious and so was the gravy that came from the pan after cooking the chicken!
It took another 40 plus years to realize that there needed to be ground bay leaves in my kitchen as well. I think that little can of ground bay leaves is what enticed me to purchase Bay Leaf Seasoning when I visited a Penzy's outlet years ago. And I loved using that spice blend from day one...
Ground Bay Leaves are convenient for so many recipes.
The flavor from bay leaves is lovely, but in whole leaf form, long cooking or marinating/setting time is needed to release the flavor into the food. This works well for recipes like Quick Pickled Onions, or Red Beans with Garlic and Red Wine. But for a recipe like this delicious salad dressing, where the crumbled leaves are used to flavor the dressing, it requires planning ahead.
And while we all plan ahead as much as possible, some days planning ahead works better than others! And then one day I remembered, my mom always had a little tin of Ground Bay Leaves right there on her spice shelf...plus a second reminder from a cookbook that I like to browse from time to time, also had instructions to make your own Ground Bay Leaves! I like to use a small coffee grinder with a removable grinding cup. This type of grinder works for coffee, but is also perfect for making your own ground spices and herbs. And with the removeable grinding up, it is easy to wash.
Having a jar of Ground Bay Leaves is so convenient!
And it only takes but a moment to buzz them up. The grinding cup in the grinder I use for spices, holds a small handful of bay leaves. I do tend to pack them into the cup a bit. Once ground they are reduced to about one to two tablespoons. I recommend that you only grind one batch at a time, as the flavor of ground spices will dim faster than that of whole herbs and spices. I use a pinch of Ground Bay Leaves, for each bay leaf called for in a recipe. When the recipe is cooked and you are ready to serve, there is no whole leaf to worry about. Store your Ground Bay Leaves in a small jar, in a cool, dark cupboard.
Ingredients needed for this recipe:
- bay leaves
You will also need the following:
- small spice grinder or coffee grinder
- small glass jar with lid
Now we are ready to begin!
How to Make Ground Bay Leaves
inspired by Good Stuff Cookbook and memories of my mom's kitchen
UPDATED: 03.11.2025
Bay Leaves, that's it!
Break the stem portion off enough bay leaves to fill the grinding chamber.
Attach the lid of the grinder securely, grind using an "on and off" method if needed to move the bay leaves around, grinding until a fine powder is achieved.
Spoon the ground bay leaves into a storage jar, label, store in a cool dry spot. Use within 6 months or so for the best flavor.
Storage options for Ground Bay Leaves. Store in a small container or jar with a lid for up to six months. The ground herb won't go bad, but will lose flavor if not used quickly, smell before using, if it smells bright and flavorful it is fine to use!
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Printable "copy and paste" version:
How to Make Ground Bay Leaves
inspired by Good Stuff Cookbook and memories of my mom's kitchen
UPDATED: 03.11.2025
Bay Leaves, that's it!
Break the stem portion off enough bay leaves to fill the grinding chamber.
Attach the lid of the grinder securely, grind using an "on and off" method if needed to move the bay leaves around, grinding until a fine powder is achieved.
Spoon the ground bay leaves into a storage jar, label, store in a cool dry spot. Use within 6 months or so for the best flavor.
Storage options for Ground Bay Leaves. Store in a small container or jar with a lid for up to six months. The ground herb won't go bad, but will lose flavor if not used quickly, smell before using, if it smells bright and flavorful it is fine to use!
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Soooo, this is certainly convenient! Great tip. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteI've done this! We found a wild bay when we were hiking aroubnd a few yaers back and collected some of the leaves. It's great fresh. Love this post.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I have thought about growing a bay tree for this very reason.
DeleteI've never thought of grinding the leaves before. Great idea!Thanks for sharing at the What's for Dinner party! Have a great week.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, take care and enjoy the nice weather!
DeleteThanks so much for linking up at A Themed Linkup 83 for Recipes in a Jar. Pinned!
ReplyDeleteDee, you are very welcome, the link-ups you share are always interesting and fun!
DeleteI have a big container of bay leaves and it never occurred to me to keep some ground ones nearby. Thank you for this idea!
ReplyDeleteHello, I have a delicious Salad Dressing Recipe that calls for a crumbled bay leaf, but I add a pinch of ground bay leaves instead, perfect and no pieces of bay leaves to work around! Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate it!
DeleteI use a coffee grinder to grind my herbs and seeds too! Great idea for the bay leaves, one time I forgot to fish them out of a soup before using the immersion blender and it was like eating little toothpicks!
ReplyDeleteLeslie, I do the same, I have a coffee grinder dedicated to herb grinding only. Thanks so much for stopping by, I appreciate it.
DeleteOh I think I need to get a coffee grinder now! That and an immersion blender are on my list.
ReplyDeleteJoanne, I buy whole herbs and spices when ever possible. They stay fresher longer, and I grind what I need using this style of small coffee grinder. It works great! Thank you for stopping by, I appreciate it.
DeleteMelynda, this is a good tip. We have a bay leaf tree so I have plenty of bay leaves. I heard the other day on a cooking show that dried bay leaves are more aromatic and flavoursome than fresh ones. I am presuming though that you don't dry yours before grinding them? They look fresh in the photos. Such a good idea.
ReplyDeleteHRK, I do not have a bay tree. I have thought about one, after I read that you cook with fresh bay leaves. I do purchase organic dry Bay Leaves and they are dry when I grind them.
DeleteYour moms spice chicken recipe sounds so yummy! And how clever to always have it mixed. I don't use bay leaves because I hate picking them out but this is such an obvious work around!
ReplyDeleteLaura, Right?! Sometimes it is those small acts of preparedness that make all the difference.
Delete