Croutons
I hate wasting anything so whilst I was experimenting with sour dough baguettes – badly at times – I had some left over. Instead of throwing the bread away I made croutons. They can be used now or frozen and are always fabulous in soups and salads.
The recipe takes about 10 minutes to prepare, 12-15 minutes to cook, 20 minutes to cool and 5 minutes to store. Easy to do whilst you are doing something else – preparing supper or loading/unloading the dishwasher. It makes less waste and makes salads and soups that extra special – a no brainer.
Turn your oven onto 190C (375F or gas mark 5).
It doesn’t matter what kind of bread you have left over but cut it into 1cm cubes.
Place in a roasting tin douse with olive oil, about 1-2 tbs depending on how many croutons you have. Using tongs or your hands make sure each cube is covered in oil. Then season (with salt and pepper) and/or flavour with other spices such as Cajun, ground cumin, herbs, garlic, grated parmesan or anything you fancy. If you have a dish in mind then you can flavour your croutons to match the dish.
Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes checking and turning half way through. The croutons need to be golden and crispy. Let cool and store in a jar if you are going to use them within a couple of days or in a plastic freezer box or plastic bag to go in the freezer. I normally use a handful per person. Use within 3 months.
Leanne
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