Crunchy Baked Pork Chops

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Dissolve 3 tablespoons salt in 1-1⁄2 quarts cold water in large container. Submerge chops in brine, cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Remove chops from brine and thoroughly pat dry with paper towels.
2. Meanwhile, pulse bread in food processor until coarsely ground, about 8 pulses (you should have about 3-1⁄2 cups crumbs). Transfer crumbs to rimmed baking sheet and add oil, shallot, garlic, 1⁄4 teaspoon salt, and 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper. Toss until crumbs are evenly coated with oil. Bake until deep golden brown and dry, about 15 minutes, stirring twice during baking time. (Do not turn off oven.) Cool to room temperature. Add crumbs to Parmesan, parsley, and thyme. (Bread-crumb mixture can be prepared up to 3 days in advance.)
3. Place 1⁄4 cup flour in pie plate. In second pie plate, whisk egg whites and mustard until combined; add remaining 6 tablespoons flour and whisk until almost smooth, with pea-size lumps remaining.
4. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees. Spray wire rack with vegetable oil spray and set in rimmed baking sheet. Season chops with pepper. Dredge 1 pork chop in flour; shake off excess. Using tongs, coat with egg mixture; let excess drip off. Coat all sides of chop with bread-crumb mixture, pressing gently so that thick layer of crumbs adheres to chop. Transfer breaded chop to wire rack. Repeat with remaining 3 chops.
5. Bake until chops register 145 degrees, 17 to 25 minutes. Let rest on rack 5 minutes before serving with lemon wedges.
   TO MAKE AHEAD: Breaded chops can be frozen for up to 1 week. Do not thaw before baking; simply increase cooking time in step 5 to 35 to 40 minutes.

CRUNCHY BAKED PORK CHOPS WITH PROSCIUTTO AND ASIAGO CHEESE
Omit salt added to bread-crumb mixture in step 2. Before breading, place 1⁄8-inch-thick slice Asiago cheese (about 1⁄2 ounce) on top of each chop. Wrap each chop with thin slice prosciutto, pressing on prosciutto so that cheese and meat adhere to one another. Proceed with recipe from step 4, being careful when handling chops so that cheese and meat do not come apart during breading.