katpo
11-30-2008, 08:36 PM
Now is the time to buy bread -- at Thanksgiving and Christmas, the bakeries make lots of different breads and they don't all sell. You can buy bread pretty cheap and cube it up for croutons, or just tear it up into small pieces and dry it out for bread crumbs. I haven't bought bread crumbs in years.
CROUTONS
Cube up the bread and put it on a cookie sheet. You can sprinkle with garlic salt, Italian seasoning, red pepper ... anything you want, and then drizzle it with olive oil. Turn the oven on to high (like 400-450 degrees) and when it reaches temp, turn it off and leave the bread in the oven. It can stay there for as long as it takes to dry out. Toss the croutons around every once in a while so that the seasoning is evenly distributed. Store in a ziploc bag after cooled.
BREAD CRUMBS
Same as above, but put the cubes or bread pieces into a ziploc bag after they're dried out. Smash with a rolling pin or use your hands -- or you can put them into a food processor. Just make sure they're totally dry before you do this.
Since the moisture is out of the bread, it will keep for a long time. I put the crumbs into jars and keep the croutons in a ziploc bag.
CROUTONS
Cube up the bread and put it on a cookie sheet. You can sprinkle with garlic salt, Italian seasoning, red pepper ... anything you want, and then drizzle it with olive oil. Turn the oven on to high (like 400-450 degrees) and when it reaches temp, turn it off and leave the bread in the oven. It can stay there for as long as it takes to dry out. Toss the croutons around every once in a while so that the seasoning is evenly distributed. Store in a ziploc bag after cooled.
BREAD CRUMBS
Same as above, but put the cubes or bread pieces into a ziploc bag after they're dried out. Smash with a rolling pin or use your hands -- or you can put them into a food processor. Just make sure they're totally dry before you do this.
Since the moisture is out of the bread, it will keep for a long time. I put the crumbs into jars and keep the croutons in a ziploc bag.