Homemade Croutons

I remember hearing it said once, in a conversation between chefs, that the French do not take the cuisine of the United States seriously because Americans buy their croutons! Funny, and true.

Making homemade croutons is very easy and rather tasty.

Today I took all the leftovers from this week's home baked bread and transformed the bits it into crunchy cubes which enhance any salad like magic!

Ingredients

3-4 Cups of days old bread cubed into 1" (or smaller) chunks

2 sticks of butter (or substitute some of the butter with olive oil)

6 cloves of garlic finely chopped

Garlic Powder, Dried Basil, and Fine Sea Salt to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large sauté pan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in garlic; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add bread cubes, and toss to coat and saute for a few minutes.
3. Spread as a single layer onto a baking sheet.
4. Bake for 20 minutes, or until crisp and dry. Check frequently to prevent burning!
5. Toss with additional powdered garlic, herbs and salt as necessary to taste.
6. Cool before storing in an airtight container.