If you are gluten-free, you know that, often, gluten-free bread is a silly oxymoron. Too dry, yeasty taste, old sponge texture, strange smell, the life of the gluten-free bread maker seems to be filled with difficulties. Even the yummiest gluten-free bread often has a very short life-span. We rarely buy gluten-free bread, but when we do it often ends up staying in the fridge for days, and then it’s not so appealing anymore. Enter Cinderella moment.
Home-made croutons!
These are really fun because you can add all kinds of topping, herbs or nuts to make them extra flavorful and delicious. They also only take a few minutes to whip up, and that’s always a plus.
Here is what you need:
- a few slices of bread
- 1 tsp oil: you can go classic and use olive oil, but why not use hazelnut, pumpkin seed or pistachio for extra flavour?
- seeds and nuts: almonds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, or sesame seeds? Use ground or whole to add a nice crunch.
- herbs: rosemary, thyme, basil, cilantro or oregano. Go fresh or dried!
- Salt, pepper and other spices of your choice.
Here is what you do:
- In a large pan, heat the oil on medium-high heat. While it is warming up, cut up the bread in small bites.
- Once the pan is nice and hot, fry the bread, tossing it from time to time to avoid burning. Once the bread has a nice golden colour, add all your additions, and let sit for a few more minutes.
- Turn off the heat and let the croutons cool-off before keeping them in an air-tight container. This is really key if you want your croutons to stay crispy.
This is so great because you get to use up some bread, but you can also really make it your own to match whatever it is you are eating. And they are deliciously crunchy and full of flavour! Let me know if you try it out!
My Lighthearted Kitchen 