Cornbread Croutons

Cornbread Croutons

• thepiggs 16 years ago
  
  From www.preparedpantrylcom
  
  How to Make Cornbread Croutons
  
  As one of our good readers reminded us, cornbread makes wonderful croutons. (The Cheddar and Bacon Cornbread is worth making just for croutons.) We’ll let Michelle tell you how in her own words:
  
  “I deliberately make extra cornbread so that I can make cornbread croutons the next day. I simply crumble up the leftover cornbread on a baking sheet and bake it at 250 degrees until golden brown. Sometimes I toss a little sharp cheddar shreds on top - sometimes not. It's absolutely FABULOUS on salads. Try it!”
  
  To get your croutons sufficiently dry and golden takes about 15 minutes in the oven.
  
  
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• thepiggs 16 years ago said:
  
  
  How to Make Better Croutons
  
  Salads are for summertime and salads go best with homemade croutons. Depending on your mood, choose either savory croutons or sweet croutons. Both go great in your favorite salad (or in a soup if you choose). Savory croutons are made with olive oil and herbs. Sweet croutons are made with butter and usually are made from bread with fruit or nuts in it—like Cranberry Nut Bread or California Raisin Bread.
  
  To make savory croutons, start with the bread of your choice. Two of our favorites are Tuscany Tomato Basil Bread and New England Herb Bread. Using a bread knife, slice the bread into 1/2-inch thick slices and then cut the slices into 1/2-inch cubes. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. For a small loaf of bread, mix 4 tablespoons of oil in a bowl with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper. Add the herbs of your choice—either fresh or dried—such as basil, oregano, cilantro, thyme, celery leaves, or parsley. Stir to dissolve the salt and then add the bread cubes tossing them lightly until coated with oil and herbs. Spread the cubes on a baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the cubes start to brown and are crisp all the way through. Baking time will vary significantly depending on the size of the croutons, how many are on the sheet, and how moist the bread is. It is important to drive the moisture from the croutons.
  
  Whatever croutons you do not use immediately, freeze in a plastic bag. To thaw and use, heat the frozen croutons on a baking sheet at 250 degrees until thawed and crisp again.
  
  We love dried fruit and nuts on our salads. The next best thing is croutons made with bread that has fruit, nuts, and maybe a little cinnamon. Make the croutons just as for savory croutons but omit the salt, pepper, and herbs and toss the bread in melted butter instead of olive oil. If you choose, sprinkle the cubes with cinnamon before baking.
  
  
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• linebb956 16 years ago said:
  The cheese ones are great on tomato soup or chili! Yummmmmy
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• linebb956 16 years ago said:
  Made a tray of these tonight out of left over cornbread.... with cheese... WE HAVE A COLD FRONT coming... next week... lows in the upper 50's... that is long overdue!
  Chili coming up!
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