Penzey’s Super Tasty Homemade Croutons

Perhaps, you just served bread with dinner. Or you still have half a loaf sitting around getting stale. Just waiting to become fuzzy or turn into a giant hockey puck. If it’s not fuzzy but not yet in its prime you face a cross roads. Do you: 1)  Toss it 2) Make bread pudding out of it 3) Realize that croutons have a decent shelf life and are way tastier and will encourage people to eat a salad. This recipe is very simple, quick, and requires little thought.

If you are unfamiliar with Penzey’s spices, they are a fantastic small company. I remember when I first heard of them, I thought, how can a store stay open that just sells spices? If there is a location near you, then go there. Smell everything. Everything is in a jar for you to smell and take in the possibilities. How bad is my Penzeys addiction? I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Ingredients:

Left over bread

1/4 cup of olive oil (this may vary depending on how much bread is laying around)

2 tsp (or to taste) of Penzeys Sandwich Sprinkle

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Cut bread into 1″ or smaller cubes, if cutting bread is a real struggle and you are sawing the bread, you should let it go instead.
3. Place cubed bread into a mixing bowl
4. Use 1/4 cup of olive oil to coat the bread. You don’t want to soak the bread, a light coating is fine. You don’t even need to measure, you can use or eyes. Just pour a little and stir.
5. Sprinkle on Penzey’s Sandwhich Sprinkle. Mix. Take quick taste. Adjust to your liking.
6. Place on cookie sheet in 400 degree oven. Make sure they are spread out to ensure even browning and drying.
7. Place in oven for 15 minutes until brown around the edges. Remember you are drying out the bread to make sure it keeps longer.
8. Allow to cool to room temperature and then place in a ziplock or air tight container.
9. Enjoy!