Croutons just got serious, y’all. My mind is buzzing with ideas on how to use these. But first things first.
Don’t judge me too harshly but I really never liked croutons. I’ll qualify that by saying they were usually from a box. And they were usually on a salad, which I wasn’t too crazy about either. What was my problem?!?
Nonetheless, I have to admit, that in my memory of croutons…they were just kind of there. All hard and boring and being a jerk about staying on my fork. So I had no problem avoiding them.
Then I learned how to brown butter.
Then I had a wildly stale baguette taking up space on my kitchen counter.
Then everything changed.
I made these for a salad recipe I have coming up as soon as I get permission to reprint the recipe for the best salad dressing on the planet here *fingers crossed*
But, in the meantime, you can eat these croutons with sooooo many things.
Ways to use homemade Croutons
- Sprinkle them on top of your macaroni and cheese.
- Put them in your soup.
- Dip them in your favorite dip when you’re watching the Big Game. [I don’t know anything else about this game so please don’t ask me! I just hear it’s coming up. So. Yay? Go, team?]
Or you could just *crunch* pop them in your mouth. One by *crunch* one. Which I may *crunch* or may not be doing right *crunch* now.
[clickToTweet tweet=”When’s the last time you got excited about #croutons? Never?? Check these out then…” quote=”Look smart and share these homemade croutons on Twitter.” theme=”style1″]
You’ll notice the brown butter flavor first and you’ll be like, “Wait. Did I just enter a world where croissants are square and crunchy and I can eat them on my salad?” AWESOME. And then, a little heat will sneak up on you. It’s a patient heat. And not overwhelming at all. Just a spicy little love note from the crouton to your tastebuds.
Awwwww.
These croutons are as easy to make as
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If you’ve never browned butter before there’s a great tutorial post on How Sweet It Is here.
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Please note: fake french accent not required for either the making or the enjoyment of the aforementioned croutons.
- 2 cups stale bread cubed
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 tablespoon sumac
- 1/2 tablespoon aleppo pepper
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Cut the butter into small pieces and add to a small saucepan over medium to medium low heat.
- Once butter is melted, start whisking almost continually.
- Continue to whisk as butter bubbles and starts to foam.
- I know it's almost there when it starts to smell like a french bakery in my kitchen.
- At first sight of the little brown bits on the bottom, remove from heat.
- Continue to whisk for about a minute.
- Add spices and whisk to combine.
- Pour butter over the cubed bread.
- Arrange on baking sheet in single layer.
- Bake for 8 minutes or until your preferred shade of golden brown.
Croutons should be made with bread that's at least a day old. The crustier the better. Do NOT cut the crusts away. They're the best part. I used baguette but I'm certain any bread would work. I'm planning to try sprouted whole wheat next!
**If you’re a food blogger and want to know how to do that little “jump to recipe” trick, Amanda from Striped Spatula has a quick and easy recipe jump tutorial on her blog. I think it’s great and am so happy Amanda shared it with me.**
These are soooooooooo YUMMY !! Who needs a salad or a soup?
I’d eat them as they are, and wouldn’t be able to stop
From experience, I can tell you this is a very satisfying way to eat them, Winnie 😉 Slightly dangerous but delicious.
Zees are fantasteeec! What a great idea!
Ah, Nicole but sank you zo much. I am loving zem, I must say. Just used them in something I’m pretty sure is going on ze blog soon 😀
Genius! You are zee crouton master 😉
Ah, but April. You are zo kind.
I’m going to make a Salad this week JUST so I can have these! I bought some french bread to have sandwiches for lunch – I guess I’ll go hungry for a couple of days, so I can let it go stale and make these!
I am SO excited for this!!
It would be the first time that my husband would have to fight me for extra croutons too! I’ll let you know how they came out! 😀
I don’t want to be responsible for marital squabbling. Make extra!
Hello yummy!! I saw your post on a twitter retweet and literally gasped! These loook super yummy and I definitely want to try out this recipe! Pinning for the future! =)
Before making my own I NEVER would have believed croutons could make someone gasp. Now I get it tho 😉 Thanks for checking it out and let me know if you make them!