Sourdough Croutons
Croutons are made with cubed sourdough bread roasted until golden brown and topped with butter, garlic, and parsley. They can be put in your Creamy Cheeseburger Soup or Beer Cheese Soup.
Sourdough Croutons
Ingredients
- 1 Round loaf sourdough bread, cut into ½-inch cubes (about 5 cups)
- 12 Tsp Salted butter
- 1 Clove garlic, minced
- 2 Tsp fresh parsley finely diced
Instructions
- Turn the oven on to 350°F.
- Melt the butter in a large ovenproof skillet over medium heat.
- Add the garlic and simmer for approximately one minute, or until aromatic, after the butter has mostly melted.
- Add the fresh parsley and stir. Make sure the bread pieces are covered in the butter and garlic mixture by gently tossing the ingredients.
- Put the skillet in the oven. (Working in batches may be necessary, depending on the size of your skillet.)
- Bake until desired level of crispness, 25 to 35 minutes. You don't want the croutons to burn, so check on them after 20 minutes. The size of your bread cubes will affect how long they take to cook.
Croutons made with sourdough
After tasting these homemade croutons, you won’t want to purchase store-bought croutons again. They have a mushy, chewy interior and a crispy exterior. Butter is used to cover the sourdough bread cubes. The butter flavor of these croutons isn’t overpowering, so don’t worry about the quantity. Before I could incorporate them into my wedge salad, I could devour the whole batch!
Ingredients for Croutons
Bread: I decided to use sourdough bread for this recipe. It would also taste great with a French baguette, ciabatta bread, or any bread with a firm crust and a little sugar. You can also make a tasty batch with some stale bread.
Butter: I covered the bread cubes with salted butter. In fact, I compared butter and oil; I’ll tell you the outcome later.
Garlic: The croutons get a subtle garlic flavor from the garlic.
Parsley: You can use dried parsley, but I like fresh parsley best. Oregano, thyme, and rosemary are further fresh herb choices.
How to Prepare Croutons
Cut the bread into cubes and slices to begin assembling your croutons. Crouton size varies, but the best rule of thumb is to ensure you can fit them in your mouth in a single bite. The round loaf of sourdough bread yielded about five cups of cubed pieces.
Next, melt the butter in a large oven-safe skillet over medium heat. (Use a skillet that can accommodate the oven because you will put it there to complete crisping.) Add the parsley after cooking the garlic for cooking the garlic for a minute or so. Mix and coat each piece of bread in the butter sauce using a spatula after adding the bread cubes to the skillet.
Bake for 25 to 35 minutes at 350°F, until golden brown and crispy. In contrast to my usual homemade croutons recipe, the sourdough bread took on a crisp texture.
Oil vs. Butter
We experimented with this crouton recipe using both oil and butter. Butter was the clear winner. However, you could also use oil to produce some delicious croutons. If oil is used, replace the butter with 1/2 cup.
Can I use an air fryer to make these?
Indeed! To make homemade croutons in an air fryer, coat the bread cubes according to the stovetop directions. Next, preheat your air fryer to 350°F rather than baking the croutons in the oven.
After applying nonstick cooking spray to the air fryer basket, arrange the bread cubes in a single layer inside the basket. Once more, you might need to work in groups. After 6 minutes, turn the croutons halfway through the 12-minute cooking time.
The croutons will resemble those you purchase from the grocery store in texture and taste less like butter.
How to Keep Handmade Croutons Fresh
Allow the croutons to cool fully after baking before storing them. After cooling, keep the croutons in an airtight jar or container in a superb, dry location. You can place a paper towel on the bottom of the container to absorb any extra moisture.
You can keep the homemade croutons at room temperature for up to three days. Keeping them in the refrigerator will extend their shelf life by a few days, and they will lose some of their crispy crunch while in the oven for a few minutes to restore the crunch.