Skillet Croutons – homemade all the way

I am not a salad or soup girl, there I said it! On any day I will rather have rice, dal and Alu Bhaja (crispy potato fries) rather than a bowl of salad or soup. However, it’s an altogether different story with croutons. I love Croutons so much that I have started preparing them at home so that I can enjoy them whenever I want. Now some people may prefer the baking method but let me tell you, preparing croutons on the skillet is much easier and quicker. It gives you more control over the color and crunchiness of the croutons. You can decide then and there if you want to add any seasonings or maybe sprinkle some cheese. Believe me once you prepare croutons at home, you will never want to go back to the store bought ones especially because this whole process is so economical. We always buy fresh bread for our daily consumption and usually we are left with a couple of day old slices. Instead of making a sad dull sandwich with a day old bread, how about we prepare a hearty soup or a gorgeous salad and serve it with crunchy homemade croutons! For this recipe, you can use any day old bread but it tastes best when prepared with sourdough or white breads.

Croutons should be toasted on the outside (so that they break with a crunch) and slightly soft on the inside and with this recipe you will be able to prepare them in just this way. Now you can very well use olive oil or a combination of butter and olive oil but let me tell you, for the best flavor I prefer to use just butter. Pan frying gives you the flexibility to control the amount of fat as per your preference, hence you can either shallow fry the bread cubes or just brush them lightly. Plus, you can always add and improvise the seasonings and herbs as per your mood and cravings. Cheese lovers can also add parmesan to the croutons and create a sophisticated flavor in them.

You can store the leftover cooled croutons in an airtight container for 3-4 days in the refrigerator or if you need breadcrumbs, just grind them up coarsely and add them in any dish you like. 

So, why wait? Let’s move on to the preparation stage:

Ingredients:

• Butter - 4 tablespoons, unsalted
• Olive Oil – ½ cup (optional)
• Bread - 3 cups, Sourdough or White
• Black Pepper – 1 teaspoon, coarsely grounded
• Salt – ½ teaspoon

Directions:

• You may cut the bread into long stripes or cubes or even tear them up into small chunks.
• Heat a skillet over medium heat.
• Add the Butter and Olive oil in it. 
• When the Butter melts, add the torn bread cubes in it and let them sit for a few minutes so they can get golden brown on the bottom.
• Add the seasonings in it (Salt and Pepper). You may also add whatever else you like: garlic powder, dried thyme, rosemary or cheese. Stir to mix.
• Keep cooking for a total of about 10 minutes, until the croutons are crisp and slightly golden.
• The croutons are ready. Add them in your favorite salad or soup and enjoy!

Tips:

• If using salted butter, make sure not to sprinkle too much salt as a seasoning.
• Instead of adding the butter and olive oil on the skillet and then frying the croutons, you can place the bread cubes in a large, wide bowl and drizzle them with melted butter (and Olive Oil). Toss the bread evenly to coat. Then transfer to the skillet and fry till they are golden brown in color.
• To reduce the calories, you can transfer the bread cubes directly on the skillet. Brush them with some melted butter and toast them till they are crunchy.
• You can use a bread that already has a lot of flavor in it example: a Rosemary Garlic bread.
• Feel free to experiment with seasonings, start with Salt and Pepper, then progress to something stronger like garlic powder, onion powder, fresh herbs (thyme or rosemary), or dried herbs (basil or Italian seasoning).

Recommended Reading:

• Tomato Basil Soup