What is a Panade?

A panade is the combination of bread and milk to form a paste, and is often incorporated into ground meats to avoid them getting too hard or dry when cooked.

When ground meat is cooked, the proteins contract and force out any moisture. 

Starches, on the other hand, absorb liquid when they're cooked, so they expand, and undergo a change called gelatinization. 

When a panade is combined with ground meat, the starches interfere with the tendency of the proteins in the meat to curl up when cooked. Meanwhile, the gelatinization, which is caused by the starches absorbing moisture, helps ensure that the final product isn't too dry. It's basically like adding little milk-soaked sponges to your ground meat.

Making a panade involves chopping (or food-processing) your bread into crumbs, adding milk, and letting it sit for 10 minutes before mashing the mixture into a paste.