Buy a nice loaf of French or Italian bread and cut it into cubes.
Spray the cubes of bread with olive oil spray and lots of garlic juice. Toss the cubes occasionally while spraying.
Sprinkle with salt.
Bake at 350 degrees until the croutons are as crisp as you like - usually for about 10 to 15 minutes, stir again and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
Makes great croutons!



4 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, minced
3 (3/4 inch thick) slices French bread, cut into cubes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a large saute pan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in garlic; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add bread cubes, and toss to coat. Spread on a baking sheet.
Bake for 15 minutes, or until crisp and dry. Check frequently to prevent burning. Cool.



Preheat oven to 300° F.

Mix your favorite fresh or dried herbs and spices with 1/4 cup olive oil.

Lightly brush flavored oil on both sides of bread slices.

Stack as many slices as you can cut at one time.

Cut into cubes the size of your choice.

Spread cubes in single layer on large baking sheet.

Bake until cubes are dry and crisp. Time will depend on the size and thickness of cubes, about 45 minutes.

Let cool completely.

Store in an airtight container.

Storage time depends on what you read, most sources say to use them within one week or freeze up to 6 months.

**You can use any kind of bread to make croutons. I have used Italian, French, baguette, potato, rye, wheat (of any kind), multi grain, oat bran, etc. Using several different types of bread gives different flavors to your dish. Try it - you may like it!!

>>homemade french bread

ohhhh, I missed this part.... if you are into making your own breads, try the no knead stuff. easy, once you get the hang of it essentially fail proof, and - tada - can be made with zero salt - flour, yeast, water. the recipe does call for salt, salt does add good flavor, but I've done it "no salt" (by accident, fwiw - but repeated) and frankly couldn't find a difference between the "little salt" and "no salt" versions.

'french' can be done sans salt as well -

I usually toss my cubed dry bread in some olive oil, parmesan cheese and italian seasonings like good seasons and then bake until crispy in an oven at about 300*. I love using sour dough bread. Homemade croutons are so much better than store bought. Specially on a crock of beefy onion soup with some melted swiss cheese over it.

( I bake my croutons on a cooling rack set over a sheet pan.

I will use all but the parmeson and the swiss cheese. I do wish I could find a truly low sodium cheese but so far I have not.

I might have to try that. I started with cornbread which is simple. Mix it up and bake it. This continous kneading and rising sucks.