Stale bread is a wonderful thing!
No one likes eating pieces of stale bread and that is the reason why it almost every time ends up in a trash. But when you take a moment and think about it, some of the best and most delicious recipes in the world are designed to utilize stale bread. For example, we all use breadcrumbs to make deep-fried food more textured and crunchy, and not to mention croutons that we are adding to soups and salads, again to make them more delicious and give them a little bit of crunch. That is the reason why I decided to share this simple recipe for homemade croutons, and show you that you don’t need to throw away that wonderful stale bread (like most of us are doing day after day). Not only that you will reduce waste, but you will also save money because you will stop buying packaged croutons.
Homemade Croutons are more delicious!
When you make your own homemade croutons, you have a lot of options. You can make them only out of bread and olive oil, or you can add a big variety of different herbs and spices. If you want, you can fry or bake them. You are free to experiment with all the flavors you want, and with the amounts of bread as small as you want, and see which ones you like the best.
I like my homemade croutons baked with a little bit of salt and dried basil. For baking, I am using a baking sheet covered with baking/parchment paper (because I am lazy and don’t like the clean-up). I never fry my croutons because this recipe that I am giving you will take around 15 minutes, start to finish, including the clean-up. I didn’t count in the time that takes for the oven to heat up. It depends on a type of oven you are using.
Let’s make our Homemade Croutons…
First, you will have to turn on the oven and get it heated to 190°C (375°F). Then you take you stale bread and cut it into 1 cm (1/2 inch) cubes and place them into a bowl. You can use any bread you like. I used my homemade No-knead spelt bread.
Now you need to add olive oil, salt and all the herbs and seasoning that you want. Place bread cubes on a baking sheet covered with baking paper in one layer.
When the oven is heated, pop the baking sheet into the oven and bake croutons for 10 minutes, or until they are golden.
Et voilà! you have made your own homemade croutons, in no time at all! Now you just let them cool down for a few minutes, and then transfer them to an airtight container and use them in your next soup or salad recipe.
I like adding homemade croutons to gazpacho, to give it a bit of texture!
Anchy
Homemade croutons are the best way to add a little bit of crunch and texture to your salads and soups.
5 minPrep Time
10 minCook Time
15 minTotal Time
Save Recipe
Ingredients
- Stale bread
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Dried herbs (optional) like oregano, basil, thyme or whatever you like.
Directions
- Start with turning your oven to heat up to 190°C (375°F), and line baking sheet with baking paper.
- Cut bread into 1 cm cubes (1/2 inch) and put into a bowl.
- Drizzle with olive oil (not too much, just so the cubes are covered) and season with salt.
- Add some dried herbs if desired and mix everything well.
- Put bread cubes onto a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, or until they are golden.
- Use in soups or salads.
Did you enjoy this post? I would like to hear what you think in the comments below. If you make it don’t forget to post it on Instagram and tag me @simply.anchy or use hashtag #simplyanchyrecipe, because I love to see all of your kitchen creations. Also be sure to follow me on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook, so that you never miss any of my recipes and posts.
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