This guide to how to make croutons from stale bread that taste so good you’ll want to snack on them, will ensure you don’t waste stale bread again. Homemade croutons taste so much better than store-bought croutons, last for ages, and are super versatile, adding texture and crunch to soups, salads and pastas. You’ll be saving bread just to make our homemade croutons.
Our guide to making homemade croutons from stale bread will make you crunchy croutons to use whole, break into smaller croutons or crush into crumbs. There are so many ways to use croutons to add texture to salads, pastas and soups. We use croutons in French onion soup, as vehicles for Spanish tapas and Basque pintxos, and to sprinkle on gazpacho and other soups.
Making croutons is one of the best ways to use up stale bread and our homemade croutons recipe will make you croutons from days-old bread that are so delicious you’ll want to munch on them as a snack. After making them, you’ll be making sure you always have some on hand. Fortunately homemade croutons last weeks in well-sealed glass jars or air-tight plastic containers so you’ll never waste stale bread again.
Whether it’s that second picnic baguette you bought that didn’t get eaten, your home-baked sourdough ends you waste every week, or those last few slices of an expensive bakery loaf, all can be transformed into delicious croutons you’ll want to make time and time again.
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How to Make Croutons from Stale Bread So Good You’ll Want to Snack on Them
Making croutons from stale bread is actually super easy, so easy that after making them once you’ll probably never need to look at our recipe again. The name ‘crouton’ is derived from the French word “croûton” or crust and were originally made with stale sourdough baguettes.
Croutons can come in the form of whole slices of baguette that are simply coated in melted butter or olive oil and rebaked, often with different types of seasonings, to give them crunch and flavour.
Whole slices are often used for soups such as French onion soup, where they’re topped with cheese, while the cubed is most commonly known for being an essential ingredient in a Caesar salad.
Lara is always sprinkling croutons on her salads, soups and stews, such as this chicken and potato soup and this chorizo, cabbage and three bean stew.
So what’s the difference between croutons and crostini and bruschetta? Well, why you can serve them all with salads and soups and also use croutons as a vehicle for tapas, especially wet ingredients, as they’ll hold their crunch better, there is a key difference between croutons and crostini and bruschetta.
Firstly, both crostini and bruschetta are only grilled or toasted long enough to make them stiff and dry enough to hold the toppings, while croutons are much more dried out, crunchier, and in some cases might crumble if used in the same as crostini and bruschetta.
Tips to Making Homemade Croutons from Stale Bread
Just a few tips to making homemade croutons from old bread, starting with the bread. These were originally made with stale sourdough baguettes, and we only make them with sourdough bread – no exceptions.
Normal commercial white bread nearly always has sugar and milk powder in it and trying to make croutons with them results in less than stellar results.
We always make our croutons in an oven as they dry out evenly – as opposed to a toaster which toasts the bread too fast. Toasted ones won’t be as crunchy and won’t last as long.
We use a stainless steel baking tray, lined with baking paper and brush the croutons with a pastry brush.
You can also make these on a griddle pan, but they do tend to end up with burnt spots which is not a great flavour for a salad, but croutons with charred lines do look enticing on the side of a soup.
Store them in an airtight container for up to two weeks or more.
Homemade Croutons Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 150 g sourdough baguette - , cut into 1.5cm (roughly 1/2 inch) slices
- 2 tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp ground paprika
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Combine the olive oil with the cayenne pepper and paprika in a large bowl. Add the baguette slices, and toss until coated. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper and coat evenly.
- Spread the baguette slices on baking paper on a baking sheet. Bake until croutons are golden, this should take around 10 minutes.
- Remove the the baguette slices from the oven and allow to cool. Cut the slices into cubes with a break knife and place the offcuts in a food processor to make breadcrumbs.
- Store both the croutons and the breadcrumbs in an airtight container for up to two weeks or more.
Nutrition
Please do let us know in the comments below if you found our post on how to make croutons from stale bread useful as we love hearing from you.
You’re so right about only using sourdough. Croutons made from commercial white bread just don’t work.
Croutons are so under-rated – they’re so good in soups and salads.Great post!
Hi Lily, thank you! Croutons add great texture and crunch, don’t they?! Thanks for dropping by :)