Crutons – what is it and the secrets of their preparation

The content of the article

• What are croutons
• How to make croutons
• Croutons recipes
• Crutons for Caesar
• For first courses
• With cheese
• Cooking secrets

Many French recipes and their names came to us from French cuisine. Many of them became household names, such as Olivier salad. When the word “croutons” is mentioned, the imagination draws spiral-shaped pasta or twisted pastries. The article talks about what these mysterious components invented by the best chefs in Europe.

What are croutons

Translated from French, the word “crouton” means “pink”. After all, it is cut from bread in order to cook a French snack. Crutons – what is it? At its core, crackers. For their manufacture, pieces of bread or loaf are fried in oil until golden brown. Initially, croutons were used as the basis for mini-snacks. So, from three peaches and several pieces of baguette in a few minutes using a skewer, you could create a dessert dish for a company of 5-6 people.

In ancient times, the French used croutons to decorate the main dish, giving it visual significance and satiety. As the culinary traditions developed, crispbreads began to be used as an ingredient in salads and soups. Some mistakenly believe that croutons are croutons or toasts. Unlike the “brothers”, the bread does not have a crust, the size is more like bilateral canapes.

How to make croutons

In France, special bread is baked to make snack crackers. In the conditions of our country, a loaf or brown bread is suitable. The main thing is that it does not fall apart, does not crumble and has a neutral taste. A crust is cut from the bread, and the crumb is cut into small cubes of about 6×6 cm. To do this, use a sharp bread knife or a metal cookie cutter.

Further, there are 2 cooking methods:

1. The bread base is dried in the oven or toaster (depending on the shape of the crumb). Then hot products are greased with butter with the addition of garlic or sugar. The sauce is selected based on how and with what croutons will be served.
2. Finished crumbs are fried in boiling olive oil until golden brown. Then warm crackers are soaked with any dressing. Do not overcook croutons, otherwise then they will be very hard.

Croutons recipes

There are not many recipes for making French crackers. They are mainly used in salads, with thick first courses, as a dessert or a snack for beer. You can lubricate croutons with everything at hand – ketchup, garlic, honey, cheese. It is necessary to consider for what dish bread is prepared. Served croutons on a common plate, or portioned on napkins.

Crutons for Caesar

Characteristics:

• time: 10 minutes;
• Servings Per Container: 4 Persons;
• calorie dishes: 300 kcal;
• mission: for dinner;
• Cuisine: French
• difficulty: easy.

Garlic croutons are used to add to Caesar salad before serving. The aroma of garlic goes well with chicken and lettuce. Oil-soaked golden crackers add spice to the famous dish. It is important that croutons are not soaked in the salad before the start of the meal. Cooking crackers at home is quick and easy..

Ingredients

• fresh loaf – 200 g;
• olive oil – 3 tbsp. l;
• garlic – 2 cloves;
• ground cumin – 2 tsp;
• rosemary – 1 tsp;
• salt, pepper – to taste.

Cooking method

1. Remove the crust from the loaf. Then cut the crumb into 2×2 cm squares.
2. In a small container, heat the oil over low heat. Add finely chopped garlic, rosemary and caraway seeds. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
3. Add slices of loaf to the prepared mixture and mix thoroughly.
4. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees. Put soaked bread on a baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
5. Fry croutons for 15 minutes, stirring until golden brown.

For first courses

Characteristics:

• time: 30 minutes;
• number of servings: 6 people;
• calorie content: 450 kcal;
• mission: for lunch;
• Cuisine: French
• difficulty: easy.

Crutons go great with soups. Especially with pea, mushroom cream – soup, hodgepodge. Rusks can be eaten in the bite with the first dishes, or add them immediately to the plate. The light creamy taste of dried bread emphasizes the taste of chicken broth. But there is one problem – there are always few croutons, and you can eat a lot of them! Therefore, you can cook a large amount for lunch. Leftovers are stored for several days..

Ingredients

• bread – 1 roll;
• butter – 200 g;
• a mixture of dried herbs – 2 tsp;
• salt, pepper – to taste.

Cooking method

1. Use a sharp knife to cut the crust from the bread. Cut it into large cubes of approximately 5×5 cm or slices.
2. Melt the butter in a small bowl in a water bath. Add a mixture of herbs there. Whisk thoroughly with a whisk until smooth..
3. Dip each slice of bread into the prepared mixture and put it on a preheated pan greased with a mixture of vegetable and olive oils. Before roasting, salt and pepper bread to taste.
4. Fry the croutons over medium heat for about 10 minutes until they are browned. The finished product can be stored for a week in a dry and cool place..

With cheese

Characteristics:

• time: 10 minutes;
• number of servings: 2 persons;
• calorie dishes: 385 kcal;
• mission: for dinner;
• Cuisine: Russian;
• difficulty: easy.

Cheese croutons with herbs is a great appetizer for both beer and wine. They can also be used as a dessert dish by adding honey, sesame or sugar. The preparation of such crackers takes a little time, and the result exceeds all expectations. The calorie content of finished products is not high, so anyone can enjoy crutons in the company.

Ingredients

• white bread – 300 g;
• olive oil – 1 tbsp. l;
• hard cheese – 150 g;
• coarse salt – 0.5 tsp;
• greens – 1 bunch.

Cooking method

1. Remove the crust from the bread and break the soft part with your hands into small pieces of arbitrary shape.
2. Grease a baking sheet with butter and lay out the bread slices. They also need to sprinkle with oil.
3. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees and put croutons for 15-20 minutes to bake until a crispy crust forms.
4. Cheese (Parmesan) grated on a coarse grater and mix with pre-washed and chopped herbs. Add salt to taste.
5. Remove the finished products from the oven and immediately sprinkle with a mixture of herbs and cheese. It will melt right on the crutons.

Cooking secrets

For the proper preparation of croutons, you need to know some features and secrets:

1. Thin, sharp knife. With its help, croutons will turn out smooth, and will not crumble.
2. As a basis, a baguette is best suited. Its size should be such that, after removing the peel, the initial products are sufficient in quantity.
3. Garlic for French crackers must be mixed with olive oil before the roasting process begins. You can just grease them with a pan..
4. The remaining crusts should not be thrown away. They can be fried after croutons with the addition of tomato or spices.