Better Than Croutons

[Kayelle]

Thanks pac..250 degrees for an hour or so?

 

[Katie H]

I've never made croutons and I pick out those teeth breakers one gets in a restaurant. I think stove top stuffing would be too salty for me too.
I do enjoy a sprinkle of sunflower seeds on top of a salad though.

Maybe I'll make some croutons. Are there any tricks besides butter and herbs?

I've developed a pretty easy way to make croutons and the method was borne of trying to figure out how to make dried bread cubes for stuffing.

I begin with a loaf of sliced bread. Put it in the freezer and freeze it until it's firm. Take out three slices a a time, put them in a stack and cut them into cubes about twice the size I want in the end. I keep doing this until all the bread has been cubed.

Once cubed, I divided it evenly among the trays of my dehydrator, then dry completely. This is the end if all I want is cubes for stuffing.

If I want croutons, I take about 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, add several sliced cloves of garlic, nuke on HIGH for about 25 seconds. Stir, let sit for a while to allow the garlic to fully season the oil. Strain out the garlic.

Pour enough of the garlic-flavored olive oil into a skillet to coat, plus a little more. Toss in a single layer of dried bread cubes, sprinkle with a little garlic salt, then turn and toss over relatively high heat so that the cubes become toasted and soak up the oil. Slide the croutons onto paper towels to cool and enjoy.

 

[Kayelle]

Thanks Katie. I would not have thought of doing them in a skillet. How should they be stored for future salads?

 

[Katie H]

Thanks Katie. I would not have thought of doing them in a skillet. How should they be stored for future salads?

I've always stored them in a heavy-duty plastic zipper bag. They don't last very long because they're so tasty. The plain dried ones, for stuffing, last indefinitely.

 

[pacanis]

Thanks pac..250 degrees for an hour or so?

I use stale French bread. I only put them in the oven long enough to toast to a crunchiness. Maybe twenty minutes max. Turn once halfway through.
I let them cool and store them in a ziploc bag at room temp. They seem to keep quite well. A few weeks anyway. They are gone by then. I typically use pepper, garlic powder and It seasoning, along with the EVVO. The old, put everything in a bowl and toss method.

 

[pacanis]

There's some of them right there, underneath all that grilled chicken

 

[Sprout]

One time I wanted croutons but didn't have suitable bread and didn't want to trek all the way to the big grocery store. We have a mediterranean market about 1/2 mile down the road so I popped in. They sell these packages of plain little dry toasts (roughly cracker size). I bought a package, took them home, broken them up and pan-fried them in some leftover bacon grease with a touch of salt. They were delicious! It was like adding croutons and bacon bits in one. I imagine it would work just as well with dried bread from home.

I struggle with croutons. I like the flavor and crunch (on certain salads) but don't like how difficult they are to get onto my fork! I liked being able to break them into small enough pieces that they just stuck to the salad. No stabbing necessary.

 

[Kayelle]

Whooze yer daddy? The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Great idea, Sprout!

 

[taxlady]

I have made croutons in the oven, but I really don't like having to turn over all those little cubes. Now I use the skillet method. I cut up stale bread and don't even bother drying it first. I have used EVOO and seasonings, but I will try with bacon fat. Sounds good.

 

[cave76]

I had my 2 - 4 year-old daughter convinced that croutons were candy. Until some neighborhood kids whispered in her ear!!

(Insert Evil Laugh icon here!)

 

[GotGarlic]

One time I wanted croutons but didn't have suitable bread and didn't want to trek all the way to the big grocery store. We have a mediterranean market about 1/2 mile down the road so I popped in. They sell these packages of plain little dry toasts (roughly cracker size). I bought a package, took them home, broken them up and pan-fried them in some leftover bacon grease with a touch of salt. They were delicious! It was like adding croutons and bacon bits in one. I imagine it would work just as well with dried bread from home.

I struggle with croutons. I like the flavor and crunch (on certain salads) but don't like how difficult they are to get onto my fork! I liked being able to break them into small enough pieces that they just stuck to the salad. No stabbing necessary.

I feel the same way about croutons - they're usually to hard for me to bite easily and too big to be comfortable, and are hard to pick up. I think I've seen little toasts like that in one of the regular grocery stores but about the size of my thumbnail. I think they're for putting in Chex party mix-type thing. I'm going to look for those and try your idea. Also, they have tri-color Mexican fried tortilla strips that I use for salad croutons sometimes.

 

[Whiskadoodle]

My lack of upper teeth prevents me from eating croutons right now. A temporary situation. I like Pepperidge farm croutons and used to eat them dry as a snack. I think it was a different brand but the same difference. Jr likes Stove top so we used to have that a lot when he was growing up.

Usually I make my own dry bread cubes for stuffing.

 

[joesfolk]

I occasionally use French fried onions from a can or c h o w mien noodles in place of croutons. Makes a nice flavor change.

 

[Sprout]

I think I've seen little toasts like that in one of the regular grocery stores but about the size of my thumbnail. I think they're for putting in Chex party mix-type thing. I'm going to look for those and try your idea.

The ones I bought this particular time were bigger, something like this:

The little ones you're talking about may work well too though. I've never had plain ones, but I know the rye ones can be really crunchy though.

 

[taxlady]

The ones I bought this particular time were bigger, something like this:

The little ones you're talking about may work well too though. I've never had plain ones, but I know the rye ones can be really crunchy though.

Those are kind of international. It says "Product of France", then the description is in German and they use the word "snacks" in the German description. The pix are like Danish open faced sandwiches.

 

[Whiskadoodle]

Another alternative to croutons I've tried and like is shoe string potato stix. I think I got this idea from a take out "Asian" chicken salad that had them tossed in the salad.

 

[simonbaker]

I like the idea of the stove top dried cubes in some french onion sou[ topped with cheese & heated. Yumm! Thanks for the idea Chief!

 

[CatPat]

I don't usually put croutons on my tossed salads. I was wondering if something similar, but with more flavor would work. So I used some leftover, uncooked, StoveTop Stuffing mix and tried it. It worked really well. I had lots of flavor, with the same crunch, but in smaller pieces so that the full salad flavor still came through. I thought it was pretty tasty.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

Oh my! I would never have thought of this. How clever you are! Which flavor of the stuffing did you use?

I was thinking perhaps the Savory Herbs one, yes? I will try this!

With love,
~Cat

 

[CatPat]

Those are kind of international. It says "Product of France", then the description is in German and they use the word "snacks" in the German description. The pix are like Danish open faced sandwiches.

That's quite international, isn't it? Ha!

With love,
~Cat

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Oh my! I would never have thought of this. How clever you are! Which flavor of the stuffing did you use?

I was thinking perhaps the Savory Herbs one, yes? I will try this!

With love,
~Cat

I used what was in the pantry, a partial package of Turkey flavor. But I think you choice of Savory Herbs would be fabulous. Great idea.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North