Uses For Stale Bread

Do you wonder what to do with stale breads or the ends that my grandkids don't think that they are supposed to eat.

You can make some bread pudding or have you noticed the different flavored croutons for salads, well it's just as easy to make your own.

Homemade croutons are cheap, they're easy to make, and they add a great texture and flavor to a simple green salad. To make your own croutons, preheat the oven to 325F. Meanwhile, cut up your bread into ½" or so sized cubes. Drizzle the bread cubes with olive oil, and season with a good sprinkle of salt and pepper. Toss it all up until it's well combined, then spread out the bread cubes in a big baking pan. Slide the pan into the oven, and bake until the bread is crisp and golden. This will take anywhere from 10-20 minutes, depending upon the kind of bread, how much you have crammed onto the sheet, and a whole slew of other factors; keep an eye on the croutons to make sure they don't burn, and give the pan a shake a couple of times during the baking process. If you don't feel like turning on your oven and are working with a small batch, you can also "toast" your bread cubes in a big skillet over medium heat on the stove. Basically, all you're trying to do is drive out the moisture from the bread so it gets good and crisp.

You can fancy up your croutons if you like too. Make garlic-flavored croutons by sautéing a couple fat cloves of garlic in ¼ cup of olive oil, and using some of that oil to drizzle over the bread cubes before baking (the ¼ cup will be enough for about 4 cups of bread). You can also add a sprinkling of herbs (parsley, basil, thyme, and oregano are all good), or substitute butter for the olive oil. Or go Italian with your croutons and make crostini. Leave the bread in slices rather than cubed up, and for each side, brush with olive oil, and rub a cut clove of garlic over the surface. Bake at 325F as for the croutons, turning the slices about 8 minutes through the cooking time, and bake until they're beginning to brown.

Whatever method or flavorings you've chosen, let the croutons cool once they're oven time is up, and add them to your salad. Toss croutons along with your mixed greens. You can also freeze extra croutons in a plastic bag; whenever you need them, just pour the croutons onto a baking sheet, and heat in a 325F oven until they're re-crisped.