Croutons for Soup or Salad
Great bread croutons can be made in two ways – in a pan or in the oven. Chef Roman Paulus shares his tips on how to prepare them so they turn out beautifully crispy and don't go soggy. Once ready, they will shine in soups, salads, or any dish that needs a crunchy finishing touch.
Prep: 30 min
Method
01.
Cut leftover bread that you won't eat into cubes about 1x1 cm and let it dry at room temperature, or even on the radiator. Use light bread such as rolls, baguettes, or various loaves, including dark, wholemeal, or herb-flavoured bread. Later, when needed, make croutons from it following our instructions.
02.
Prepare already pre-dried croutons in a pan, especially if you need a smaller amount. You can also use soft bread if you want the croutons soft and not completely dried out.
03.
Heat lard in a pan, add the bread cut into cubes, season with salt and pepper, and fry until golden brown. At the end of frying, add chopped herbs.
04.
Use this method if you have fairly fresh, still soft bread and want to make a larger amount of crispy croutons.
05.
Spread the bread cut into cubes on a clean baking tray and bake in an oven preheated to 180 °C until golden brown (about 10 minutes). Meanwhile, heat butter in a small saucepan (about 1 tbsp butter per 50 g of dry croutons), add pressed garlic to taste, sprinkle with crushed dried chilli peppers, and season with salt.
06.
Take the golden croutons out of the oven and pour the prepared butter with garlic and chilli over the tray. Mix, add chopped herbs, and return to the oven for another 3–4 minutes. Watch out so the croutons don't burn.
07.
Croutons give you great scope for imagination and trying different flavour combinations. If you're not sure, get inspired by the popular flavours below.
08.
Herb croutons – light roll, butter, and thyme.
09.
Garlic croutons – Šumava-style bread, lard, garlic, and flat-leaf parsley.
10.
Spicy chilli croutons – dark bread, lard, dried chilli, and flat-leaf parsley.
11.
Italian croutons – light bread, olive oil, basil, and finely chopped black olives.
12.
Use croutons especially in soups such as garlic soup, asparagus soup, or nettle soup. They also work well in popular summer salads, such as chickpea and avocado salad, or a refreshing yellow melon salad.
