Sometimes you cannot finish all of the bread that you make before it starts to go bad. There are a few things that can be done with the bread once it becomes stale. One of my favorites is using it to make fresh homemade croutons. It’s a quick and easy way to get a couple more minutes of use out of the bread before it finds its way into the trash.
All you need is a good bread knife, I love my Wuhstof Classic, some olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and about 20 minutes. Just cut the bread into your favorite sized cubes and coat with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder and toss onto a pre-heated baking sheet and bake for 15-18 minutes.
Homemade croutons tips and tricks:
Keep an eye on things. If left unattended you can easily burn the croutons. Also, have fun with the seasonings. Use different combinations to create your signature recipe.
- Near-stale bread cut into cubes
- 3-4 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ⅛ tsp garlic powder
- Preheat baking sheet and oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
- Cut near stale bread into cubes
- In a large bowl coat the bread cubes with oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder
- Spread seasoned cubes onto preheated baking sheet and bake for five minutes
- Remove pan from oven and turn over bread cubes and place back into the oven and bake for five more minutes
- Remove pan and turn cubes over again and cook for five more minutes
- Remove pan and if cubes are golden brown, allow to cool, if not golden brown, return to the oven for three more minutes. If still not golden brown, return for two more minutes and repeat in two minute increments until browned. Allow to cool and store in a zip bag for storage.
