Have you ever bought a loaf of good quality bread for a meal, but ended up eating only half of it? A day or two later you return to this bread, which you have forgotten about and left untouched, only to realize that it has become stale.
It’s a shame, and like most people, you probably will decide that the bread is now useless. I mean all you can do now is throw it away, right? But what if I told you that there is a way for you to properly repurpose that bread for a second life? What I’m talking about class is homemade croutons.
Homemade croutons are one of those recipes that you should have ingrained into your cooking repertoire. Not only is it easy to make, but it’s also a simple thing that you can use to wow your guests with. Just serve your guests a salad with these croutons, and let them know that they are homemade. Now I’m not saying that you should brag about them, just let the fact that they are homemade subtly be known. Do this, and I can almost guarantee that your guest will be like “Wow, you must put a lot of work into your cooking”. You’ll reply “Thanks”, but all the while you’ll just be sitting back and thinking to yourself “No, this was super easy, but I’ll definitely take the compliments”. I mean they don’t have to know, right?
Tips, Tricks & Suggestions
- While it’s great to use stale bread for this recipe, you don’t necessarily need it. I often buy bread, cube it up, and just let it sit on my counter for half a day until it is all nice and stale.
- I should note that there are no real measurements for this recipe as the amounts of oil, garlic powder, and herbs can vary significantly depending on the amount of bread you are using. Don’t be afraid of this fact, you’re an adult, so just trust yourself, and you’ll do just fine.
Homemade Croutons Recipe
Prep time: 1 or 2 days to let the bread get stale
Cook time: 10 to 15 minutes
Servings: Depends on how much stale bread you use
Ingredients
Stale bread (it can be any type of bread you want)
Olive oil
Garlic powder
Optional dried herbs:
Oregano
Rosemary
Marjoram
Basil
Thyme
Instructions
- Cube bread: Use a serrated bread knife and cut the bread into cubes that are roughly an inch in cubic size. If you prefer your croutons to be larger or smaller, then feel free to do so. Just make sure that they are all the same relative size, as not doing so can result in some croutons being overcooked, and others undercooked. Once all of your bread is cubed, place them out in an even layer on a cookie sheet.
- Let the bread cubes get staler: Even though you might be starting with stale bread you will more than likely need to let the bread get staler. To do this, simply let these cubes sit out on your kitchen counter, anywhere from an hour to half a day. You will know that the bread cubes are ready when they are completely stiff when you squeeze them. The key here is that we want to make sure that as much of the excess moisture of the bread is gone.
-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
- Oil & season the bread: Pour just enough olive oil, garlic powder, and herbs over the bread cubes so that their tops are evenly covered by all ingredients.
Then use a spatula and flip and mix all of the bread cubes so that they are coated all over by the oil, herbs, and garlic powder.
- Bake croutons: Place the bread cubes into your heated oven, and bake them for around 10 to 15 minutes, flipping and stirring them with the spatula about every five minutes. Make sure to keep a close eye on them during this time as you don’t want your croutons to get too browned or else they will be unpleasant to eat. You will know that they are done when they attain a slightly golden color.
- Let the croutons rest: Take the croutons out of the oven, and let them sit on the cookie sheet for 10 to 20 minutes to cool off. Once they are cool to the touch you can store your croutons in a glass jar.
- Enjoy
Homemade Croutons Recipe
Ingredients
- Stale bread it can be any type of bread you want
- Olive oil
- Garlic powder
Optional dried herbs:
- Oregano
- Rosemary
- Marjoram
- Basil
- Thyme
Instructions
- Cube bread: Use a serrated bread knife and cut the bread into cubes that are roughly an inch in cubic size. If you prefer your croutons to be larger or smaller, then feel free to do so. Just make sure that they are all the same relative size, as not doing so can result in some croutons being overcooked, and others undercooked. Once all of your bread is cubed, place them out in an even layer on a cookie sheet.
- Let the bread cubes get staler: Even though you might be starting with stale bread you will more than likely need to let the bread get staler. To do this, simply let these cubes sit out on your kitchen counter, anywhere from an hour to half a day. You will know that the bread cubes are ready when they are completely stiff when you squeeze them. The key here is that we want to make sure that as much of the excess moisture of the bread is gone.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
- Oil & season the bread: Pour just enough olive oil, garlic powder, and herbs over the bread cubes so that their tops are evenly covered by all ingredients. Then use a spatula and flip and mix all of the bread cubes so that they are coated all over by the oil, herbs, and garlic powder.
- Bake croutons: Place the bread cubes into your heated oven, and bake them for around 10 to 15 minutes, flipping and stirring them with the spatula about every five minutes. Make sure to keep a close eye on them during this time as you don’t want your croutons to get too browned or else they will be unpleasant to eat. You will know that they are done when they attain a slightly golden color.
- Let the croutons rest: Take the croutons out of the oven, and let them sit on the cookie sheet for 10 to 20 minutes to cool off. Once they are cool to the touch you can store your croutons in a glass jar.
Try these homemade croutons with a salad dressed with one of our vinaigrette recipes. Balsamic, and Greek
Inspiration from other blogs
From Gimme Some Oven
From Good Life Eats
