Dairy Free Croutons

These dairy free croutons are a great and easy way to upcycle leftover bread.  Just cut them into pieces, sauté, and serve over soup or salad.

I’m always on the hunt for new ways to re-purpose leftovers.  

My newest way to give new life to old challah is by making dairy free croutons.  

They are great over salad and soup. I especially like them with caesar salad and homemade tomato soup.

I often make challah french toast or challah egg in a hole Sunday mornings as a way to use challah left over from shabbos.  

However, when I’d rather have pancakes or shakshuka instead, these croutons come in very handy. 

Especially since croutons last a lot longer than bread before going stale.

Croutons can be made in the oven, which is a great semi hands off way to do it.  

However, you still need to mix it so they don’t burn. 

I hate mixing things in the oven because I always burn myself.  

Also, when you mix things in the oven your prone to have some pieces that are overdone on some sides and under-cooked on others.  

So for perfect croutons I sauté in a frying pan.

What’s nice about sautéing on the stove top rather than bake in the oven is the control you have.

If you see that a piece needs to be toasted more on one side, you just flip it over.  If you see that some pieces are drier than others, just give them a little extra oil.

Another option when making croutons is whether you use butter or oil.  

I like to use oil since it is dairy free making it more versatile and doesn’t burn as easily.  

Croutons can be any size and with or without crust.  

You can cube them, tear them into chunks for a more rustic look, or make French croutons.

One last thing to think about is flavor.  

Do you want to use olive oil for flavor or a neutral oil to keep it simple?  Do you want to add herbs like garlic, thyme, oregano, basil, rosemary? 

I like olive oil and rosemary.

Adjusting for a Convection Oven

Convection ovens blow the hot air around, producing around 25 to 30 percent more heat.

Since convection ovens produce more heat, you need either lowering the temperature or shortening the cooking time to compensate.

When recipes specify temperatures and cooking times, it’s for conventional ovens, unless specified otherwise.

A simple rule to follow is to lower the temperature by 25ºF or 14ºC when baking cookies and pies, and 50ºF or 28ºC when roasting meat and poultry. Some convection ovens offer separate settings for baking and for roasting.

You can also leave the temperature the same and instead, shorten the cooking time by 25 percent. For example, if your recipe calls for 60 minutes in the oven, check the food after 45 minutes instead.

However, keep in mind, some convection ovens actually make a heat adjustment for you. That is, if you set a convection oven for 350ºF, it might actually set itself to 325ºF to compensate. So, check your manual before making adjustments.

Crouton Tip:

I find that the more stale the bread is, the easier it is to cut into cubes.  To make your bread stale more quickly slice and let sit out for a hour to a day.