I’m planning on making homemade croutons tomorrow to go with my homemade Caesar salads. I usually let the bread sit out for a day to get dry so that when I toss it with the oil and seasonings before baking it, it soaks up the flavors. But it’s too humid for the bread to get dry. Should I bake the bread a little, toss it, then bake it again?
While we’re at it, do any of you have crouton recipes you love? I have my old standby, but if someone has a better one, I might give that a try.
You sit it out to dry why? So it soaks up the oil better? Sincere question, I’ve made croutons before and don’t think I’ve used that step.
I cube the bread, including crusts, pour some good olive oil over it, plus salt, pepper, herbs, fresh if I have them, otherwise dried, thyme works well, toss it to distribute seasonings evenly, then spread them out on a baking pan and bake in a ~350 oven. Shake them around periodically so they brown evenly. And if it’s humid, make sure to put them in an airtight container when they’re done so they stay crisp.
Homemade croutons are tasty all out of proportion with the ease of preparation.
not to mention there is never enough garlic in the store bought croutons.
Yeah, I set my bread out to dry so that it soaks up the oil and flavorings better. When it’s still moist, it gets coated in the oil/flavoring mix, but it doesn’t get really absorbed, in my experience. When it’s been sitting out for a day, it’s just the slightest bit stale and soaks it up superbly.