Prep Work

• Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes. High temperature is key to browning and crisping baked breaded cutlets. In the meantime, turn thick breasts into cutlets if necessary. Cut them in half lengthwise, place the pieces on a cutting board and cover them with plastic wrap. Use a meat mallet, rolling pin or other implement to pound them into uniformly flat cutlets. Lightly grease a baking tray with nonstick spray or cooking oil.

Breading

• Pat the chicken cutlets dry with paper towels so the breading adheres well. Line up three bowls. In the first, put enough all-purpose flour to coat both sides of all the cutlets. The second should have enough beaten egg to coat them all, and the third should have your breading. A panko coating is ideal for imparting a substantial crunch. Dredge the cutlets in the flour first, brushing off the excess. Then, dunk them in the egg and let the extra run back off into the bowl. Finally, dredge them in the breading and line them up on the baking tray.

Flavoring

• Panko alone works for breading oven-fried chicken cutlets, but you have plenty of options for adding more crunch and flavor. Mix in a bit of cornmeal or even finely chopped pistachios, walnuts, pecans, slivered almonds or other nuts. Include dried herbs and spices to taste, as well. Salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder, basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, coriander or Cajun seasonings are just some possibilities. Also, you can replace the egg with mustard or honey mustard for more flavor or if you prefer to substitute egg out of recipes.

Baking

• Bake the breaded chicken cutlets in the middle of the oven for about 25 minutes. Cooking times are estimations only, as they vary by your oven's performance, the thickness of the chicken and other factors. The USDA advises cooking chicken to an internal temperature of 165 F, but cutlets are generally too thin to get an accurate reading on with a meat thermometer. The breading should be well-browned and crisp, but to test the chicken, cut into the center of the thickest part. The juices should run completely clear and the meat should be uniformly white throughout.