Homemade Croutons Recipe

I would love to find a package of croutons to buy in my local store that doesn't contain oils we can't eat, or corn products, or garlic, etc.  But unfortunately, I am out of luck with that, so I decided to make my own.  I buy a loaf of Swiss Peasant Bread every couple of weeks from Red Apple Market and keep it in the freezer, so I use this bread to make these crunchy, flavorful, delicious croutons. The trick to this recipe is the oven temperature and baking time, and the recipe just uses what you have on hand without any measurements, so feel free to experiment with different bread, spices, and oils you might like.  These croutons are great on Caesar Salads, as well as just to snack on.  This is how I make them:

Homemade Croutons Recipe

Olive oil
Salt
Dried rosemary spice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Chop into small cubes as much rustic, day-old or semi-stale bread that you have on hand for this recipe.  Add them to a medium mixing bowl, then drizzle a little olive oil over the bread cubes.  Next add a sprinkling of salt and a sprinkling of dried rosemary spice.  Use your hands to mix the bread, oil, salt and rosemary together.  Add another drizzle of oil over the bread cubes if it looks like it might need it (don't overdo the oil), and use your hands to mix it together again.  Pour out the bread cubes in a single layer onto one or two cookie sheets sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Bake them in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.  Let them cool completely before storing them in an airtight container in the pantry.

Rice Cracker Recipe (Vegan, Gluten-free)

This recipe is posted for my friend Laura who loves these crackers. I stopped making them a while ago due to Sam's starch and milk (of any kind) senstivities, and my sensitivity to rice flour. I created this recipe to have great rice crackers to put hummus on since we were cutting out wheat at the time. My family loved these crackers when I used to make them. They store well in a large Ziploc bag in the pantry until they are all eaten.

Rice Cracker Recipe

1-1/4 cups brown rice flour
1/2 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup potato starch or tapioca flour (Bob's Red Mill brand)
1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup rice milk

Olive oil non-stick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix dry ingredients together with a fork. Add the olive oil and cut it in with a fork until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the rice milk and mix thoroughly.

Separate the dough into 2 equal parts. Spray 2 cookie sheets with olive oil non-stick spray. Put a ball of dough on each cookie sheet in an elongated shape like a football. Cover with a big sheet of plastic wrap and use a rolling pin to roll out dough to a very thin sheet (almost transparent) covering the whole cookie sheet. Use a pizza slicer to cut columns and rows of small square crackers (1" x 1" or so). Use a fork to prick holes in each cracker. Spray the crackers with the olive oil non-stick spray and lightly sprinkle with salt.


Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Take out the lightly browned crackers (you will have to break them apart along the seams for some of them) to cool on a table top and put the rest of the crackers back in the oven for additional 10 minute increments until all of the crackers are lightly browned. This will take approximately 1 hour of baking time total. When crackers are all cooled, put them in a large Ziploc bag and store them in the pantry.

Parmesan Herb Crackers

¾ cup flour
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ tsp salt
¼ cup very cold butter cut in small pieces
2 tbsp chopped herbs (Savoury and oregano are great)
1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
2-4 tbsp ice cold water

Pulse all ingredients together in a food processor until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add only enough water to bring the dough together, pulsing the processor every time additional water is added. Form dough into a roll about 1 ½ to 2 inches in diameter, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for a hour or so or overnight.

Cut crackers from the roll with a sharp knife about ¼ inch thick and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes, flip the crackers over and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes until golden brown.

Tip: Make a double batch and keep the plastic wrapped dough in the freezer for next time.
Fantastic with soups.