Originally published on August 2, 2014
So you’ve purchased a beautiful loaf of Italian or French bread to sop up your spaghetti sauce one night, and now you’re left with half a loaf that you just don’t know what to do with. Well, you could just continue buttering it and serving it as a side to any dish, but you could also do something a little more interesting. You could turn it into croutons for your next Caesar salad, soup, or even panzanella salad.
A word about croutons though. While you can add just about any seasoning and spice that you choose, do not forget the garlic! I did one night when I had my in-laws over for dinner and my father-in-law brought up the garlic-less croutons for the rest of the evening (he’s a big kidder, that one.) So whether you use roasted garlic, garlic powder, or just mince some into the bread while it’s cooking, for the love of God, do not forget this all-important ingredient. And to be honest, it really does make them taste a lot better.
Ingredients:
1/2 loaf Italian or French bread, cut into cubes
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
Salt
Pepper
Directions:
1.) Melt butter and olive oil together in a large skillet over medium heat. When melted, add cubed bread and toss to coat as much of them in the fat as you can (you won’t be able to cover every corner so don’t worry about this too much; just get as much as you can.) Sprinkle with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper, and toss. Cook until the croutons become golden brown and crunchy, tossing every once in awhile to cook evenly.
2.) Serve, use, and enjoy!