Don't throw that stale bread in the trash anymore. Use it to make croutons and add to your salads!
This might seem like a simple recipe for a blog post but sometimes it's the things we take for granted, that we always end up needing, like these love homemade croutons. How many times have you ended up grabbing a bag from the store just because you'd never buy bread and make croutons?
That's all good but I've noticed there's a lot of people baking bread at the moment including myself. And whenever you have crusty bread it tends to dry out quicker than regular sandwich bread. So unless you cut your homemade bread into two pieces and passed one onto the freezer for another day, you're probably looking at some dry and hardened bread on your counter.
How to make homemade croutons
Stale bread or French bread is perfect for making croutons. If you used fresh, soft bread you'd end up with a lot of crumbs and not much crunch. Another good reason is, you probably have all of the ingredients in your pantry right now, and if you don't there's many ways to substitute some of them for other similar ingredients.
Items you'll need
- Olive oil- extra virgin will work and provides great flavor.
- Herbs- Dried are preferred over fresh and oregano, basil, tarragon and rosemary are all good choices to use.
- Salt and pepper- I like to use sea salt for it's coarseness and black pepper.
Cut your leftover bread into slices then cut them into dice or 1 inch squares.
Transfer the bread cubes to a large bowl and add the olive oil, dried herbs, salt and black pepper.
Using your hands or a spatula, toss the bread with the rest of the ingredients making sure to coat them well.
Place on a sheet pan and bake in the oven.
STORING YOUR HOMEMADE CROUTONS
For croutons to last, they have to be completely dry. Once they're baked I like to let them sit on the counter for a while before I bag them up and store them at room temperature. Usually the longer they sit though, the more they tend to be snacked on and eventually end up disappearing!
