This May, during #NationalSaladMonth, Michele from Abigail’s Oven is sharing a brilliant tip to transform your homemade salads from simple to sensational. It all starts with their exceptional Sourdough Country Loaf.

Imagine the delightful transformation of Abigail’s Oven’s crusty yet tender Sourdough Country Loaf into golden, flavorful croutons. Michele’s easy method involves cubing their bread and then generously drizzling it with a fragrant blend of oil and your favorite spices. A mere 10 to 15 minutes in the oven yields warm, irresistibly crunchy croutons right in your kitchen.

I love a good salad, but I prefer ordering it in a restaurant because they have all those lovely extras: red onion, fancy olives, avocado, a variety of greens, and decent croutons.

But I’m making a new effort. For one thing, I’ve found that baby arugula is pretty fabulous, and if I keep it on hand—and mix it with other leaf lettuce—I’m more inclined to save money and make salads myself.

Also, with COVID-19, we should get our greens on at home, anyway.

Making your own croutons is one easy way to make salads stand out. It was hard for me to cut up that beautiful Country Loaf. You’ll probably relate to this because we never have “leftovers” of this sourdough bread. But I took a deep breath and did it anyway—all for your edification, dear reader. Okay, I did get to eat the salad. 

But so can you.

Sourdough Crouton Recipe

Preheat the oven to 375°F

I cut up about 3-4 cups of bread cubes.

Try to get the size fairly uniform so they’re done baking at the same time.

I then combined in a small bowl:

  • Garlic—powder is easier, but I just soaked about a clove of minced garlic in the oil. Do about a half teaspoon of garlic powder, if that’s what you’re using.
  • A half teaspoon of thyme powder. You can use Italian seasoning or oregano—or whatever sounds best to you. I always, always choose rosemary for everything, because it’s my favorite, but I’m trying to restrain myself and go for variety. (Besides, I keep running out of rosemary.) Poultry seasoning would work, too.
  • I didn’t use onion powder, but a half teaspoon of that also would be a great choice.
  • Salt to taste
  • A teaspoon of dried parsley
  • A mix of olive oil and melted butter, equalling about a ¼–⅓ cup

Instructions

  1. Mix the oil and spices together and drizzle a bit over the bread cubes, tossing, drizzle, tossing, and drizzle again. Then mix well one last time. The goal is to spread out the mixture evenly so all chunks are equally delicious.
  2. Spread on a cookie sheet. I put foil or parchment first so clean-up is easy. Bake for about ten to fifteen minutes, tossing occasionally for an even crisp. Time-wise, it will really depend on how small you cut up the croutons and on how old the bread is, so keep an eye on them.
  3. If you like, you can sprinkle Parmesan cheese at the end for an added flavor boost.
  4. Let the croutons cool completely.

Of course, you can make less if you want to make a salad for one. For example, you could make croutons for one using only one cup, adjust the seasonings, and pan-fry them.

Happy cooking! And stay safe, friends.