By Samin Nosrat
Updated May 23, 2024
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Cook Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- 5(378)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Store-bought croutons simply can’t compete with homemade ones. To begin with, your raw ingredients are almost certainly of a higher quality, and hence more delicious, than the stuff anyone else will use. What’s more, the rustic, uneven shape of torn croutons, like these croutons from "Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat" by Samin Nosrat, lends a variety of textures to your salads. Dressing clings to them better, they’re more lovely to look at, and they are less likely to scratch the roof of your mouth.
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Ingredients
Yield:8 cups
- 1-pound loaf day-old country or sourdough bread
- ⅓cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt, as needed
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
234 calories; 10 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 29 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 342 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Heat oven to 400 degrees. For more teeth-friendly croutons, remove the crusts from the bread, then cut the loaf into inch-thick slices. Cut each slice into inch-wide strips. Working over a large bowl, tear each strip into inch-size pieces. Alternatively, you can tear croutons directly off the loaf, as long as you get somewhat evenly sized pieces.
Step
2
Toss croutons with olive oil to coat them evenly, then spread them out in a single layer on a baking sheet. Use a second sheet as needed to prevent crowding, which will entrap steam and keep the croutons from browning.
Step
3
Toast croutons for about 18 to 22 minutes, checking them after 8 minutes. Rotate the pans, switch their oven positions, and use a metal spatula to turn and rotate the croutons so that they brown evenly. Once they begin to brown, check them every few minutes, continuing to turn and rotate. Some croutons might be done when others still need a few more minutes of baking, so remove them from the tray and let the rest finish cooking. Bake the croutons until they’re golden brown and crunchy on the outside, with just a tiny bit of chew on the inside.
Step
4
Taste a crouton and adjust the seasoning with a light sprinkling of salt if needed. Let croutons cool in a single layer on the baking sheet. Use immediately or keep in an airtight container for up to 2 days. To refresh stale croutons, bake for 3 to 4 minutes at 400 degrees.
- To make classic torn croutons, stir 2 cloves finely grated or pounded garlic into the olive oil before dressing the croutons. Toss with 1 tablespoon dried oregano and ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes before toasting.To make cheesy torn croutons, toss the torn bread with the olive oil, then add 3 ounces (about 1 cup) very finely grated Parmesan and lots of coarsely ground black pepper to the bowl, and toss until combined. Toast as directed above.
Ratings
5
out of 5
378
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Cooking Notes
dimmerswitch
First, the olive oil measure in this recipe should be 1/3 C. Looks like a typo in ingredients as published here. I have been making my own crouton for 30 years, but it didn't occur to me to tear the bread until seeing Samin's recipe. Genius. I've made these in both standard and "classic" - see Tip at bottom of recipe - and they're great to use in salad, with soup, to dip in hummus or other spreads or on their own with a libation. Airtight container and they've held well for a week for us.
mike h
Pro tip: after 2-3 cups croutons have baked, drop them while still hot into a paper bag (or similar) containing: 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp sweet paprika, 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, 2-3 tablespoons (combo) of finely chopped parsley thyme sage oregano. Close the bag and shake it until croutons evenly coated then transfer to a pan or plate to cool before serving. Magic!
Luther
These are really good. As another said, the olive oil is 1/3 cup. Lightly sprinkled oregano in addition to salt before baking. Put these in a sealed container and kept great for three weeks. Then used them in my dressing for Thanksgiving. Hubba-hubba.
seajaywood
Reference other notes/comments. Time given in recipe seems long…but may work if you are using a traditional oven or have it to that mode. In convection oven/mode 8 minutes worked for me after following recipe.
Darren Stephens
Did a hall of a baguette, third of a cup of olive oil salt and pepper. Didn’t shy away from using the crust. I did nine minutes at 400°. We loved these, and will make them again.
DJ
Love this simple recipe, the savior of old bread. If you thinly slice off the crust in large pieces and toast them along with the croutons, it makes terrific crackers.
Gina
Love these but always have lots to spare so after they’re cool I freeze them and they keep for a long time. I pop what I need in the toaster oven for one toast cycle to warm them back up/get them crispy and let them cool while I prepare the salad. Delicious.
Debbie B
My croutons were very brown after only 8 minutes. They would have been burnt to a crisp after 18-22 minutes!
Chris
Delicious and easy. I made the cheesy, garlicy version in the Tip section. You'll definitely want to keep an eye on them after the 8-minute mark. I shuffled them around every couple of minutes and took them out after about 18 minutes.
Darren Stephens
Quick weeknight croutons: Four slices of sourdough bread from Aldi, crust on. Slice lengthwise, then at a right angle to create cubes. Throw them In a large bowl, drizzle with olive oil, stir with a large spoon. Bake at 400, starting with 10 minutes. watching carefully as they can go from brown to burnt quickly. Easy enough to do anytime! I like these especially with Caesar salad.
Bijou
Sooo... this recipe got me thinking. I placed the dry croutons on top of bacon slices on a sheet pan (no oil) for 10 minutes at 375. Shuffle the bread, baked another 5 minutes. Removed croutons. Finished bacon. I think it was another 5 minutes to make it crispy as bread atop made the cooked bacon look ... sad. Used both bacon and croutons in salad. I cannot express how such a simple swap created a culinary foodgasm. Changed my whole salad game.
Steven F. (New England)
20 minutes at 400 is more than sufficient!!
SullyCyn
These croutons are great! I have made them with garlic, onion, parmesan, sesame seeds....depends on what i am doing with them. The tough part is not eating them before i add them to my recipe!! So far, I have always used some kind of soughdough bread.
BB
Great, easy recipe. Cooked perfectly in 8-10 min, as others have suggested
toneby
Tear your leftover bread. Put the plastic bag full into the freezer. When you need croutons, toss them with oil and toast them from frozen.
Linelle
I just made this with a seeded sourdough baguette, torn, crust on. Took about 8 minutes. Perfection! Leave the crust on, it adds an extra dimension of crunchiness.
Sean Casey
Why get rid of the crust? I cut my croutons (why tear?) so that each one has some crust. We munch on them but in a salad , the dressing softens the crusts. The crust is part of the bread so why not part of the bread toasted?
cjb
excellent as suggested in the tip!
Lisa Z-S
The parm sort of gathered at the bottom of the sheet. Cooked too long! Should never have run upstairs during the 20 minutes. Next time I will try the paper bag trick. Like everyone's suggestions for keeping and storing, and using for stuffing and more. )
Adrienne
Mine burned at 7 minutes, so keep an eye on them.
Lynnie R
Perfect oven croutons! We do like the garlic add but also the basic version too. Very good! In my oven these work best at 375F. I also sub granulated garlic for fresh as it resists burning … add it directly to the oil or add it to the bread chunks after they are oiled. Also, a trick learned from a fav Alice Waters cookbook is to toss the hot croutons with a generous amount of fresh, minced garlic as they come out of oven. We love these made w/fresh sourdough bread
Darren Stephens
Did a hall of a baguette, third of a cup of olive oil salt and pepper. Didn’t shy away from using the crust. I did nine minutes at 400°. We loved these, and will make them again.
Too Hot. Burnt
Temperature way too high. Burnt in 8 minutes.
Chris
Delicious and easy. I made the cheesy, garlicy version in the Tip section. You'll definitely want to keep an eye on them after the 8-minute mark. I shuffled them around every couple of minutes and took them out after about 18 minutes.
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