Croutons


Croutons
Do you use croutons, that typically French trick of toasting small pieces of bread on the side to add to a recipe?

They're just delicious, but you need to know 2 or 3 things about them.
7,442 5/5 (17 reviews)
Grade this page:
Keywords for this post:BreadCroutonsRecoveryToasted
Last modified on: December 30th 2020
For this post: Comment Follow Send to a friend
Croutons

Don't buy them

Commercial croutons are overpriced compared to what they cost in real life, they're generally made with industrial bread of very mediocre quality, and above all they're made with a lot of more or less dodgy stuff: lots of salt, artificial flavoring, extra fat, etc. Avoid them at all costs. Avoid at all costs.

croutons industriels

A great way to recycle stale bread

There's no need to use fresh bread to make them; on the contrary, they're much easier to make and detail when the bread is a little dry.

How to make them?

It's very simple:

découpe croutons


- Cut one or two slices of slightly stale bread with a saw knife, ideally into 1 cm cubes. Depending on your taste, you can use only the crumb of the bread (whiter), or the crumb + crust (more color and flavor).
- In a frying pan over high heat, heat either a little olive oil or a little butter ( clarified if possible), depending on your taste.
- When it's hot, add the bread cubes all at once, stirring quickly to distribute the fat evenly.

Note that the bread cubes act like sponges, sucking up all the fat, but you mustn't add any more, as it would be sucked up again, and this time it would be too greasy.

croutons


- Brown the croutons, stirring regularly to evenly brown them.
- Season with salt and pepper at the end of cooking

Use in your chosen recipe, croutons transcend salads in particular, where they bring a contrast of crunchiness, and even of hot-cold if incorporated right out of the pan.

Possible variations:

- Rub the bread pieces with a clove of garlic or 1/2 shallot before cooking.
- Instead of salt and pepper, sprinkle cooked croutons with curry powder, paprika, turmeric or other spices of your choice.

Tosum up: It's much better to make your own croutons, as they taste better and cost less.

Lasts posts
A drizzle of olive oil
A drizzle of olive oil
Often in a recipe, you have to "baste" vegetables, for example, before sending them to the oven. What the author means by this is that you need to put oil on top of the vegetables to cook them in the oven. Typically, we just quickly drizzle oil over the vegetables, hoping not to miss any, but...
July 13th 20255795
Always secure your cutting board
Always secure your cutting board
When using a cutting board, it's very important that it's stable and doesn't move while you're cutting, for safety's sake. Boards have a natural tendency to slide on the work surface, but here are 2 ways to block them effectively.
July 1st 20257925
Cherry clafoutis, with or without pits?
Cherry clafoutis, with or without pits?
When it comes to cherry clafoutis recipes, there's often a camp of those who argue that you absolutely have to leave the stones in because it tastes better, and the other camp (myself included) who prefer cherries without stones, which makes a much more pleasant clafoutis to eat. But is it true...
June 29th 20257875
Should potatoes be washed twice?
Should potatoes be washed twice?
Let's say you have to make a recipe that includes potatoes, let's say sliced, you'll most likely proceed as follows: Peel the potatoes, wash them, slice them, wash them again, pat them dry and add them to your recipe. But there's a "but": depending on the recipe, the second washing may be a bad...
May 19th 20252,419 15
Grilled bacon is much better in the oven
Grilled bacon is much better in the oven
Some recipes call for thin slices of bacon to be cooked and added to the recipe, or to prepare one of those delicious breakfasts known as "à l'Anglaise".
April 25th 20252,1285

Other pages you may also like
Fruits which can ruin your jelly
Fruits which can ruin your jelly
There are many ways of making a fruit mousse, but one of the simplest is to prepare a fruit jelly (basically a fresh fruit coulis with gelatine) and then mix this jelly before it sets completely with whipped cream. The result is perfect for filling a charlotte, for example. But do beware;...
March 6th 201374 K4.0
The baker always gild twice
The baker always gild twice
I've already told you about gilding, the beaten whole egg that is spread with a brush on anything that needs to brown in the oven: puff pastry, pastries, etc. and that professionals use a lot, I'm going to come back to this to clarify a bit how to do it, and give you a professional tip.
June 9th 201932 K4.2
Fruits and their syrup
Fruits and their syrup
As I write these lines, we are finally in the summer, the holidays are approaching, and above all, the fruits are pouring onto the market stalls, if they are ripe, it's time to enjoy them to the full! .
July 24th 20199,0764.7
The right weight of pastry for a pie
The right weight of pastry for a pie
Let's try to solve a thorny problem: How much dough will I need when I make my next pie? You're planning to make a pie, you're going to use your favourite mould or circle, but how much pastry will you need to fill it completely with a well spread pastry, without being too thin, or on the contrary...
March 20th 202063 K4.3
In praise of Mont d'Or cheese
In praise of Mont d'Or cheese
Do you know the Mont d'Or, this extraordinary cheese from the Haut-Doubs in France, with a unique taste and appearance, which can be eaten both raw and cooked? I'll tell you a few words about it, and with some tips on how to choose it and cook it. .
November 27th 20219,8235
Post a comment or question
Posted by:
I am not a leaving thing

Follow this page
If you are interested in this page, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the page is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
I am not a leaving thing
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.

Back to top of page