Don't let stale bread go to waste!!! But, how stale is too stale when making croutons? This is the question I asked myself before embarking on a recent crouton adventure. I still don't know the exact answer, but I've come to the conclusion that pretty damn stale still makes a delightful crouton. I had a baguette sit on the counter, in that terrible paper bag with the plastic window it comes in, for 4 whole days. Four and a half even! It was hard. Really really hard. The middle still had some softness, but it was a struggle to cut the baguette into pieces with an excellent bread knife, as the crust was so stale. Apparently stale bread is no match for some olive oil and an over though, because these croutons turned out perfectly.
Croutons
1/2 of a stale baguette
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
Preheat your oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet with parchment.
Cut the baguette into 1 inch pieces, or smaller! Very crunchy croutons can be a bit hard to manage if too big. In a large bowl, drizzle 1/4 of the olive oil over the bread. Toss to combine and continue until each piece has a little olive oil on it. Season with salt and pepper.
Bake for 10-15 minutes. Just watch them and when they're golden brown they're done!