Up until this point, we (the Lewis household) have been fairly lazy when it came to croutons. Normally I buy them bulk from Winco on my once- or twice-a-year excursions into the city to stock up on bulk items from the big box stores. Well, stocking up on bulk items is pricey, and since February's job loss, we just don't want to spend the money.
But we were out of croutons, so Don took it upon himself to make some. They're easy-peasey to make, so I don't know why it never occurred to us to do this earlier. Go figure.
Anyway, when he's ready to make a batch, Don asks me to make a loaf of French bread (which I do with the bread machine).
He lets the loaf sit for a couple of days to "harden up," then cuts it into roughly one-inch cubes.
These are his ingredients: Olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Parmesan cheese.
He mixes everything together...
...and adds it to the bread cubes.
Adding the oil mixture to the bread cubes is a patient process. He drizzles a little over the top, then tosses the cubes to bring up the bottom cubes. Drizzle, toss. Drizzle, toss. Rotate the bowl. Drizzle, toss. He goes through this process about six times until the mixture is used up.
Then he spreads the bread cubes on cookie sheets...
...and bakes them at 375F for 13 to 15 minutes (or until slightly browned).
He lets the croutons cool completely, then bags and freezes them.
One loaf makes about 1.75 lbs. of croutons.
In theory – in theory, mind you – croutons are for salads and other savory dishes. In reality, however, these have become our New Favorite Snack. Seriously, we'll decant a small bowlful from the freezer bag and crunch on them by themselves. They are ridiculously delicious.
Speaking of crunching, Don crunched the numbers and compared homemade croutons with store-bought ones, keeping in mind we buy all ingredients in bulk. The homemade ones are about half the cost of bulk store-bought croutons – and twice as good.
Here's the recipe he uses. Since one loaf of our homemade bread makes about 12 cups of cubes, he quadruples the recipe. (He also doubles the amount of garlic, 'cuz we love garlic.)
I don't know why it took us so long to make our own, but there you go. Seriously, we're never going back to store-bought croutons ever again.
I have come to the conclusion that everything made by hand tastes better than store bought. It tastes fresher and you know it doesn't have the preservatives in it. Just My honest opinion though
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to try this recipe.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of recipes, have you ever considered self publishing a cook book? I for one would love to have a hardcopy of all your recipes in one book.
Cheers, SJ now in California?
I love putting them in soup.
ReplyDeleteYummmmmmmm
ReplyDeleteMy 2¢ worth, again, HAHAHA
Why tis it so hard to convince folks that Home Cooked Grub is sooooooo much better than Store AND Restaurant bought, chemically enhanced, Food Imitation?
Seriously take the worst loaf of Bread ya have ever Home Cooked and compare it to Store Bought Stutt. Ever wonder why you can set a loaf of Wonder Bread (not picking on Wonder Bread) on the counter for a few weeks, then take a loaf of Homemade and do the same. Well, the Wonder Bread will still be “eatable” I guess. Chemically Enhancement does wonders.
How about that Fried Chicken? Soups, Grilled Corn-on-da-Cob, Heck, even a good ole Hamburger, compare a Home Hamburger to a McDonalds.
Yes Home Cooking takes time, but guess what, GOOD food SHOULD take time, and at one-half the cost (mostly).
So, a question on the Croutons.
Why don’t you mix the “added” ingredients into the Bread when you’re making it? Even the Olive Oil will bake right in. Once the Bread is finished and set for a few days to dry, then cut er up and Oven Toast it.
Just a thought, I make a lot of “Spiced” Breads this way and they seem to disappear somehow.
PS: I agree on the Recipe Book.
What is your bread machine, Mrs. Lewis?
ReplyDeleteIt's a Regal KitchenPro model no. K6742. We bought our first one (new) back in 1994 or 1995, if I remember. That first machine finally died after 20 years of hard use and thousands of loaves of bread. We were lucky enough to find two identical models in thrift stores over the years, and are now on our third machine. If you're a bread-eating family, I can't recommend a breadmaker enough.
Delete- Patrice