Homemade Croutons
Fat, seasoning, temperature, three variables, and any stale bread becomes the perfect crouton.
- Preparation
- 8 min
- Cook/bake time
- 12 min
- Total
- 20 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 135 kcal
- Servings
- 6 servings
- Prep
- 8 min
- Cooking & baking
- 12 min
Fat, seasoning, temperature, three variables, and any stale bread becomes the perfect crouton. Croutons for a Caesar salad are different from those for a pumpkin soup, and both are ready in ten minutes. Choose the fat and the flavor profile, the rest is always the same.
Why this works
A crouton is crispy when its water has been completely extracted, not when it is brown on the outside. That is the difference between the oven and the pan: In the pan, the surface browns in minutes while the core remains moist, and this crouton becomes chewy after an hour. In the oven at 180 degrees, it dries evenly and keeps for a week afterwards. That is why the temperature here is lower than you might expect: At 220 degrees, it would be dark on the outside before the middle is dry. The fat has a second role: It conducts the heat into the pores of the bread and simultaneously carries fat-soluble flavors from garlic or herbs, which is why the seasoning goes into the fat and not onto the dry bread.
Build your own
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Your pick: Olive oil · Garlic & Herbs · Cubes
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Step-by-step instructions
- 1
Prepare and season the bread
Preheat the oven to 180 °C top/bottom heat. Mix the fat with the seasoning and the salt and toss the bread in it until everything shines evenly. The seasoning belongs in the fat, not on the dry bread, the flavor compounds are fat-soluble and otherwise will not distribute at all.
- 2
Bake for twelve minutes
Spread the pieces in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake them for twelve minutes, turning once halfway through. 180 degrees sounds low, but it is not: At a higher temperature, the surface would be dark before the core is dry, and that is exactly what makes the crouton keep well.
- 3
Let cool
Let the croutons cool completely on the baking sheet. They only get really hard during this process, when warm they still feel soft, and if you put them in a jar in this state, you will have chewy cubes the next day.
Our best tips
- 180 degrees, not 220. A crouton is crispy when it is dry, not when it is brown, at high heat the core remains moist.
- Only put them in the jar after they have cooled completely. If filled warm, they sweat and are chewy the next day.
- Cheese and sugar only in the last three minutes. Both brown much earlier than bread and would otherwise burn.
Tasty variations
In the pan
Over medium heat for six minutes while stirring, faster, but the core remains moister and the croutons only keep for a day. Perfectly adequate for immediate use.
As a Panzanella base
Slightly larger pieces and only bake for ten minutes so that the middle remains slightly soft. For a bread salad, they should be able to absorb liquid without immediately falling apart.
Nutrition facts
| Calories | 135 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 3.1 g |
| Carbohydrates | 16.8 g |
| – of which sugar | 1.7 g |
| Fat | 6.1 g |
| Fiber | 1.1 g |
Where the 135 kcal come from
per serving
Calculated from the ingredients – how we do it
We add up reference values for every ingredient and divide by the number of servings. These assumptions are baked in:
- Reference values per 100 g – for the raw ingredient, exactly as listed.
- Tinned goods count at drained weight, bone-in meat at purchase weight: you eat about 70 per cent of a chicken thigh and leave the rest.
- Water evaporates as you cook. The energy stays in the pot, the weight does not – so the figure is per serving, not per 100 g of finished dish.
- Anything listed without a quantity – “salt and pepper” – is not counted.
- For build-your-own recipes the figure applies to the default choice. A different combination shifts it, sometimes considerably.
A guide value, not a lab measurement: no two onions weigh the same, and fat content varies from pack to pack.
Frequently asked questions
Which combination do the nutritional values apply to?
For the standard selection: Olive oil, garlic and herbs, cubed. With butter and Parmesan they are significantly higher, with cinnamon and sugar mainly the sugar content shifts.
How long do croutons keep?
A week in an airtight jar if they are completely cooled and really dried through. Croutons with cheese keep shorter, about three days, the milk fat goes rancid.
Which bread is best?
Hearty white bread or sourdough with a firm crumb. Sandwich bread works, but turns into dry foam rather than a crouton with bite. Whole wheat bread tastes strong, but can become bitter, then bake five degrees lower.
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