Homemade Croutons (From Leftover Sourdough!)

Use your leftover odds and ends from your sourdough loaves to make these delicious homemade croutons!

Do you have a bunch of miscellaneous slices of sourdough that need to be used up? Like maybe you're turning out loaves so quickly that there's almost always the butt of the last loaf left but no one will eat it because there's already a fresh loaf to eat? Truly, this is the story of my life.

Transform those sad slices into these delicious croutons and you will be so happy they were neglected.

They're good on salads, on soups, or just as a snack. Make more than you think you'll need because if you're anything like me, you'll sample extensively as soon as they come out of the oven, until they're cooled and put away.

The bread

Use any bread you want here! My batches typically consist of some classic sourdough and some rye, but even a brioche or sandwich bread would work.

Whatever kind of bread you choose, you'll need 4 cups of it cut into ¾-inch cubes.

Tip: Store old slices of bread in the freezer until you have enough to make a batch of croutons.

The fat

This recipe uses a combination of olive oil and butter for the perfect combination of a higher smoke point + delicious butter flavor. AKA, croutons that are deliciously buttery and crispy.

One crouton making tip is to have the oil and butter HOT before adding the bread cubes. This will help the bread to crisp up without being saturated in the oil.

To do this, add the oil and butter to the pan and place it in the preheated oven. Then watch it like a hawk. (Believe me, I have burnt more butter than I care to say by walking away at this point). Once the butter is melted and bubbly, it's ready for the bread.

The seasoning

For an all-purpose crouton, I like to use salt and garlic powder and an (optional) sprinkle of cayenne. These will go well on anything you put them on.

You can really get wild with customization here, and the sky is the limit for flavor combinations! Italian seasoning, herbes de Provence, everything but the bagel seasoning, parmesan cheese - it is really fun to change the seasoning up depending on what you're using your croutons for!

The perfect crunch

Homemade croutons are the best kind of croutons in part because you can make them exactly your preferred level of crunchiness.

This will take some trial and error and will vary depending on what kind of bread you're using, so be sure to check on them frequently your first time baking them to get it just right.

Bake for 10 minutes, then toss and bake 10 minutes more. If you like softer croutons, take them out now. If you like them crispier, toss and cook for 5 or so more minutes.

Keep in mind that croutons will harden as they cool, so you want them to be slightly softer than your ideal when you take them out of the oven.

Storage

The most important thing about storing croutons is they must be completely cooled before going into an airtight container. Any condensation will make them lose their crispiness and get stale (sad!).

Once they're cool, move them to an airtight container and store at room temperature.

How long do homemade croutons last?

How long your croutons stay fresh will depend on how crispy they were to begin with. Generally speaking, drier croutons have a longer shelf life than softer ones.

So it's hard to say exactly how long your croutons will keep. I'd say at least a week for even the softest of croutons. I like mine more on the crispy end of the spectrum and have successfully kept them for a month or more.

But really, I usually have the opposite problem where I can't get them to last long enough because people (and by "people," I mean "I") eat them too quickly.

You may have to fight people off of them. They are that good!