There are some things in life that seem so difficult, yet when you attempt them, you realize that they are "no brainers".Take croutons, for example. When I was first introduced to croutons in the 70's, I thought they were pretty darn good. Then the whole adulthood, low carb, "is it worth the calories?" concept came into my consciousness, and I began to pick these cubed hip-extenders out of my salads and kick them out of my life.
One day, just recently, I let croutons back in. I had just completed training on yeast breads and created some mouth-watering specimens of starch. But as many of you know, homemade bread has no preservatives (other than salt, but the scant amount in the bread doesn't really count). So what's a baker to do when faced with too many loaves of once yummy stale bread????....Duhhhh! MAKE CROUTONS!
Without consulting any of my hundreds of cookbook, I decided to wing it. Here's what I did: Set the oven at 350. Take out a shallow sheet pan (some of you might call it a cookie sheet) and line it with parchment (or wax paper in a pinch). Cut up the bread into cubes. Lightly toss the cubes with a little olive oil. Then toss lightly with your favorite herbs. I like Herbs de Provence. Salt lightly and put in the oven until the croutons are crisp (you, ultimately, decide the crispness). Allow to cool completely and store in an airtight container. Try mixing some of your favorite breads (wheat, pumpernickel, oat). Homemade croutons are an added bonus to any salad, or you may even find yourself eating them plain, uncontrollably. Don't say I didn't warn you!
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