It’s the simple things that matter most.

I discovered the absolute joy of homemade croutons while I was in cooking school in France. Oh to take a slice of white bread, cut it into cubes or other shapes (hearts on Valentines Day) and fry it in butter with a generous sprinkling of salt and a twist of freshly ground black pepper.  So tasty, I still dream about it over 15 years later.  Croutons are easy to make at home—it just takes a few minutes and the results are so much more pleasing than the jawbreakers that pass for croutons at salad bars nationwide.  So what are the advantages to making croutons at home?  Well, this way you won’t be left with half a box of croutons that you will only throw away next spring.  Freshly made they are crunchy on the outside and give just a little in the middle with an enticing softness.  You can pierce them with your fork.  They are highly addictive so unless your will power is greater than mine you should only make as much as you need. You can control the seasonings and limit the sodium.  With homemade there will be no hydrolyzed this and high fructose that unless your kitchen is wildly different than mine. At the Cordon Bleu, we used pan de mie, or Pullman loaf in English.  Any fine grained sandwich bread will do.  I like to experiment and use whole wheat, pumpernickel or rye bread depending on the recipe and salad dressing.  Don’t limit your use crouton use to just salads though.  They add a really pleasing crunch to pureed and blended soups and are a classic accompaniment to gazpacho.

Croutons

1 slice of sandwich bread, crusts removed and cut into cubes or other shapes with a cookie cutter.

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Salt

Pepper

Melt the butter in a saute pan over medium heat.  Add the bread cubes to the pan and toss gently to coat.  Saute until golden brown.  Drain on paper towels and season with salt and pepper while still warm.

Enjoy with  or without your favorite salad!