Italian Croutons
Worried about your homemade bread molding in the sweltering summer heat? Don't let it go to waste—let's make some croutons instead!
During the summer months, it can be challenging to consume an entire loaf of homemade bread before it spoils. It may seem unlikely, but occasionally, this situation arises, especially during hot and humid summers. The bread either becomes moldy or turns extremely hard and stale, reaching the point of being nearly inedible. Fortunately, I have a no-waste solution to address this problem: repurposing any leftover bread into delectable, crunchy homemade croutons.
To create these delightful treats, simply toss your sad and stale bread with a generous amount of seasonings, along with plenty of olive oil, and bake them to crunchy perfection. This process completely transforms the bread, resulting in the most flavorful and aromatic croutons that any salad would proudly feature.
Italian Croutons
4-6 cups stale crusty bread, cubed
3-4 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
1 TBSP dried parsley
1 TBSP dried oregano
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp kosher salt
Preheat the oven to 325°F.
Cut your bread into cubes that are roughly the same size and place into a large mixing bowl.
Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl with your bread cubes. Mix everything until the bread is thoroughly coated with the olive oil and seasonings.
Pour your seasoned bread cubes onto a rimmed baking sheet and spread out evenly so the bread is in a single layer.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the croutons are lightly golden and toasty.
Place the baking sheet on a wire rack to cool the croutons. Once they’re completely cooled, store your croutons in a glass container or jars.
Store your croutons in a dark and cool cupboard. The croutons will keep for 3-5 months.
*Notes:
When I make croutons I normally use leftover sourdough bread. But if you don’t have any of that on hand any crusty or hearty bread will do. You just don’t want to use bread that’s too soft because it might not hold up well when tossing the bread with the olive oil.
Some of my favorite types of bread to use when I don’t have sourdough available are rye, hearty whole grain, ciabatta, baguettes and even focaccia. Any of these breads will make delicious croutons.
It’s important to use stale bread for croutons. Using stale bread ensures that the crouton will absorb the olive oil. Also it helps to make the croutons nice and crunchy when baked.
Before storing, it’s very important that you make sure that the croutons are cooled completely. If they are even slightly warm they will sweat in the container and all of your hard work will be undone. The croutons will soften and spoil. The warm and wet environment is absolutely perfect for mold growth, may I say ew.