Homemade Croutons That Taste Like Candy to the Carb Lover
Photo by Valley Visions Photography
OH MY GOODNESS – these homemade croutons are so good, I’m calling them candy for the carb lover.
Yes – Carb Candy.
I didn’t know day old bread (or week old bread in this case) could taste so good. A few minor, innocent ingredients like old bread, olive oil and garlic and you have yourself some carb candy.
Who would have thunk? Not me.
I love Caesar Salad and these croutons make it even better. When I saw this recipe on The Pioneer Woman I knew I had to try it. I didn’t realize how easy they would be to make and how much better they are than the store bought croutons. They are so good that my son and I would open the container and eat them by the handful like they were M&Ms.
You start with bread of any type. I had a crusty loaf of sourdough bread and I loved the final taste. Cut up your bread into 1 inch cubes and throw them on a lined baking sheet. I lined mine with a nonstick mat but parchment paper would work as well.
Next you heat up some olive oil and put some peeled and crushed garlic in it. Use a spoon to move the garlic around in the pan. This lets the garlic infuse into the olive oil. Hmmm – can you smell it right now?
Then you drizzle that garlic infused olive oil over the cut up bread. Mix it up real well so that each piece of bread gets some of the garlic oil on it.
Now the hard part – putting it in the oven at 200 degrees for ONE WHOLE HOUR. Yes, you have to wait ONE WHOLE HOUR for this carb candy. It’s worse than waiting for the chocolate chip cookies to get done.
When that very lonnnnnnnnnng hour is up, turn the broiler on low and watch the croutons very closely. You just want the broiler to brown the bread not char it! Turn the bread once if needed.
Let the carb candy cool a little bit and then dig in. Oh and feel free to add some salad to that candy at any time. They compliment each other well.
Photo by Valley Visions Photography
Print RecipeHomemade Croutons
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients:
• 1/2 loaf crusty french bread - or any bread that you want to use - different types of bread will make different flavors of croutons
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 cloves fresh garlic (peeled)
• Salt to taste
Directions:
1. Slice your bread into thick slices and cut them into 1-inch cubes.
2. Put them onto a lined baking sheet.
3. Heat olive oil in a small saucepan or skillet over low heat.
4. Peel and crush (don’t chop) 2 cloves of garlic and add them to the oil. Use a spoon to move the garlic around in the pan for about 3 – 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and remove the garlic from the pan.
5. Slowly drizzle the olive oil over the bread cubes. Mix together with your hands, then sprinkle lightly with salt. Bake at 200º for one hour, shaking the pan occasionally.
6. After the one hour is up, turn the broiler on low and let the broiler brown the bread. This should take about 1 – 2 minutes at most. Turn the bread once if needed.
7. Store in an airtight container.
Slightly adapted from The Pioneer Woman
Wife, mom, business owner, volunteer, lover of chocolate, procrastinator of cleaning, experiencing life in my 40’s and not putting off to tomorrow what I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I stop lookin’ and get cookin’ in all areas of life.
Yummy I will be making this.
Oh sounds so great I will be making these.
YUM! I love homemade croutons but have never made them with garlic oil. I’ll definitely give this a try. Thanks so much for linking up to Creative Thursday this week. I can’t wait to see what you link up next week. Have a wonderful weekend.
Michelle
A great addition to any salad.