I made a bunch of bread sticks for our family dinner yesterday. This is what I did with the leftovers.
Croutons
Toss bread or soft bread sticks that have been cut into cubes with a little bit of olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt. (Start with just a little oil - you don't want too much, and you can always add more. Also, my bread sticks were already well seasoned, and didn't need any other herbs, but if you're using plain bread, feel free to add other stuff.) Spread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet (don't over crowd the baking sheet), and bake for about 45 minutes at 315°. Turn off oven, and leave the croutons in there for another hour to an hour and a half, until thoroughly dried and crunchy. (In other words, I had to take Spencer to school, and then ran a couple of errands.) Let cool to room temperature, then spread on a couple of paper towels to remove any excess oil, then store in a plastic bag. I have no idea how long they will store, and because my kids prefer croutons to potato chips, popcorn, or anything like that, I don't think they will last more than a day or two around here. (And I made three baking sheets worth!)
Note: If you are cooking two batches at a time, turn the baking sheets length-wise, and stagger them (ie: put one all the way to the left on one rack, and the other all the way to the right on the rack right below it) so that the rack on top doesn't trap any of the moisture coming off the bottom sheet. Also, rotate them halfway through baking.
2 comments:
Great idea! I am sure that they tasted really good because the breadsticks were good.
I have some of these in the oven right now. I am so excited. I hope the turn out. We really love croutons here-we taught our kids to like and eat salad by bribing them with croutons. Only salad eater get them. :) I made french bread to go with our dinner a few nights ago. While it was good fresh-it was a little heavy and we haven't even touch the 2nd loaf. I was just going to toss it when I remembered this post.
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