Last night we had friends over for dinner and because the last time we ate dinner at their house they made homemade croutons, I felt like I needed to reciprocate the effort. After all, homemade croutons taste so much better in a salad than any croutons you can find in the grocery store.
I found a recipe (something exactly along the lines of what I was looking for) at A Sweet Pea Chef.
ingredients.
- day-old French bread (1/2 loaf)
- ¼ c. olive oil
- kosher salt, to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Parmesan cheese (approximately 2 T.)
- Italian seasoning (approximately 1 T.)
- garlic powder (approximately 1 tsp.)
directions.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Using a bread knife, cut the bread into 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch cubes. If you prefer larger or smaller croutons, make your cuts accordingly–just be sure to make your cuts as similarly as possible to help them bake evenly. Alternatively you can break bite-sized chunks of bread off which will give your croutons craggy edges that will crisp well in the oven.
- In a large Tupperware bowl (preferably one with a cover), toss bread cubes with enough olive oil to lightly coat.
- Add salt, freshly ground black pepper to taste, cheese, and seasonings.
- Once cubes are evenly and lightly coated, pour bread onto a baking pan lined with aluminum foil (for easy clean-up).
- Bake bread in oven for 20-30 minutes until bread is golden and very crunchy. Toss cubes several times during baking.
Homemade croutons, stored in a plastic container or a plastic bag, last up to two weeks unrefrigerated.
Recipe rating:
Food Snob 