Croutons

Croutons 

These crunchy little delights are an excellent accompaniment to soups and salads, providing a whole new level of consistency normally not found in these dishes. Following the old adage that bread is best fresh, and realizing that there are only so many breadcrumbs that one can use, croutons are the perfect use for old bread, certainly if its somewhat stale!

Makes enough for 2-4   

Ingredients:

-4  thick slices of old bread (at least half an inch wide), I used leftover table bread from the recipe posted here

-2 tbsp good olive oil (mine was infused with lemon)

-1 large clove garlic

-1/8 tsp dried basil

-1/8 tsp dried parsley

-2 rough grinds of black pepper

-sprinkle with salt

1) Crush the garlic, mix alongside the spices with oil, let it sit 5min.

2) Apply the oil mixture to each side of the bread slices using a brush

3) Chop the bread into little cubes, wiping the rest of the glass with the bread

4) Bake for 350 degrees at 15 min., flip it and bake again for another 15 min.

5) By this point, the bread should be thoroughly dehydrated and ready for soup or salad, store in a (very) airtight jar or bag.