When I was a student at a classical French culinary school, acroutôncould be anything from a thin slice of toast topped with melted cheese to a chunky fried cube of bread. There werecroutônscut into hearts, cut into wolf-teeth points, and cut into a 1/4-inch dice. And eachcroutônhad a specific use case, none of which I remember now. All I remember is the satisfying crunch they added to every dish they touched.
Croutons—and when I use the word, I mean the cubes of crunchy bread usually found on salads—are one of the best ways to add a new dimension of texture and flavor to salads, soups, pastas, and more. And when you make croutons yourself instead of buying them at the store, you have all the power: you get to decide what size they are, how to flavor them, and how to cook them. (It's also a great way to give new life to bread that's going stale. Hello,#wasteless!
To make croutons at home, turn on your oven. Or fire up your grill. Or just put a skillet on the stove. Because the fact is, there are lots of ways to make croutons—which is why you have no excusenotto make them.
This is my favorite method, because I especially love croutons that are crisp on the outside but still soft in the inside. To get that texture you have to use fresher bread and cut it into larger cubes. Then heat some oil or butter (or a combination of both) in a skillet, throw in the bread cubes, and fry, tossing often, until they're golden-brown on all sides. Season generously with salt and pepper, throw on some chopped fresh herbs, and you've got my favorite croutons to put on a bowl of coldgazpacho. They're best eaten immediately, and you'll never get anything like them in a package from the store.
You can also get croutons that are crisp insideandout on the stove by cutting your bread a little smaller, and/or using stale bread. Just dice and fry away, adding more oil or butter as needed.
Cooking dinner on the grill and want some croutons for your salad? No need to run inside to the stove—just heat a cast iron skillet right on your grill and fry some bits of bread like you would on the stove. The bonus here? They'll pick up a hint of smoky flavor from your grill. For even extra flavor and smokiness, fry some bacon in that skillet first and use the leftover bacon grease to fry your croutons.
This is the easiest way to make croutons. And if you've already got the oven going for something else you're making for dinner, it's extra easy. Dice (or tear) your bread into little pieces, toss in a bowl with oil or melted butter, and season with salt, pepper and any other herbs or spices of your choice (how about some crushed garlic and smoked paprika croutons?). Spread the bread on a rimmed baking sheet in an even layer and bake at 350° until crisp and beginning to brown, 7 to 15 minutes depending on the size of your croutons.
Don't want to heat up your kitchen by using your oven? A toaster oven makes small batches of croutons in a flash.
Note that oven-baked croutons tend to be crunchier all the way through, since the heat of the oven dries the bread out. They also tend to keep a little longer, since there's less oil involved in making them. So once they cool you can pack them up in a resealable container or bag and use them for your salads all week long.
For a totally addictive upgrade, give your croutons a layer ofmelted cheese. Once the croutons are done (or even a few days after you've made them), spread them out on a rimmed baking sheet and sprinkle with your favorite shredded cheese. Pop the croutons back in the oven and bake until the cheese is melted.
Finally, don't limit yourself to traditional loaves of bread.Cornbreadmakes for great croutons; you can even get real crazy and make sweet and savory croutons out of stale muffins. Cookedpolentacan also be diced and fried into croutons, though it'll be a bit denser than normal croutons. Pieces of torn pita bread makes a really great crouton substitute too, and are the base of the classic Middle Easternfattoush salad.
