I always use fresh bread for making croutons. I think it ends up tasting fresher than old bread. I slice it thick and cube it. Then I put it on a cookie sheet and put it in the oven on maybe 250°F for a half hour or until it dries fairly well on the outside, enough to hold the individual shapes, but not so much to make the whole thing crunchy. Just before serving them with a salad, I'll heat some butter and good olive oil in a large pan, throw in a smashed clove of garlic, some salt and pepper and whatever dried herbs I feel like that day. I'll toss the croutons quickly and really well to make sure they all get coated on all sides with the oil and herbs. Then I'll let them sit to get just a bit toasty, toss them again and toast the other side. Joe

Moni, Homemade croutons are easy to make. I use homemade French bread. Some people prefer to cut the bread into cubes before seasoning but I do it just the opposite. Here's my way... Slice the French bread into 1/2" slices. Brush both sides with olive oil. Sprinkle both sides of the bread with a seasoning mix & bake at 400 degrees until the bread is slightly brown & crunchy. When cool enough to handle, cut into cubes. Store in Zip-Lock bags in the freezer. I keep my seasonings quite simple because I use the croutons crushed as a breading for fish & chicken & don't always want them heavily seasoned. Here's a few suggestions for your seasoning blend... Garlic Powder Onion Powder Dried Thyme Dried Basil Dried Oregano Celery Salt Salt & coarsely ground black pepper Parmesan Cheese Paprika A bit of ancho powder if you like them spicey I wouldn't use ALL of those in one batch of seasoning but it gives you an idea of what type of things to start with. You can also cube the bread, toss with some olive oil, sprinkle the seasoning, toss with your hands to coat the cubes, spread them on baking sheets, & toast off in the oven, if you prefer. Neither method is better than the other...just different ways of accomplishing the same thing. Great croutons! Enjoy. /tricia

At the restaurant, we used to cut up the leftover sourdough baguettes, drizzle them with lots of garlic butter (fresh garlic) and toast them on cookie sheets in the oven. They require monitoring! New prep cooks always burnt a pan or two up because they thought they could do something else while the croutons were toasting! I loved it if there was just a wee bit of burnt edge to them. The favorite nibble for waiters wanting to nosh was one of those wonderful, garlicky croutons dipped into a dish of our thick blue cheese dressing. Yum! I like experimenting with different breads for croutons. Rye bread makes wonderful croutons with a difference, as do wheat breads. Sometimes I like to make a batch of mixed bread croutons, it adds interest to a plain tossed salad.

Angela, I also make homemade croutons with whatever bread I have that's getting stale, or else I make bread crumbs in the food processor. The croutons usually get used/eaten pretty promptly, I put them in a tupperware type container on the counter unless they are going to be there more than a day or two, then they go in the fridge. I make bread crumbs and use them a lot, those get put into a ziplock and go into the freezer. I can measure out as many as I need without even thawing, and the bag goes right back. Annie