Cornbread Croutons Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you keep homemade croutons crisp? ›

The best is to store them air tight and prevent any moisture from coming in. Moisture is the main enemy of croutons, making them lose their sogginess. If they do become a little soft, heat them again in a pan to crucnh them back up.

You can also get croutons that are crisp inside and out on the stove by cutting your bread a little smaller, and/or using stale bread. Just dice and fry away, adding more oil or butter as needed.

Adding about 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of extra butter or vegetable oil can increase the moistness of your cornbread. You can do this even if your recipe doesn't call for butter or oil. Replace milk or water with creamed corn. If your recipe calls for milk or water, try replacing it with creamed corn.

While both styles generally use the same ingredients -- cornmeal, flour, eggs, and baking powder -- the variance lies in the flavor and texture. Northern-style cornbread tends to be sweeter, moister, and cake-like compared to its Southern counterpart.

If you're baking your croutons, make sure they are well-spaced-out on a shallow tray to ensure they crisp evenly and they don't steam, causing them to become soggy. They also need to be in a single layer and not touching. If you're frying the croutons, toss the pan regularly to make sure they crisp evenly.

3: Don't let the bread get perfectly crisp in the oven

The croutons will continue to crisp up as they cool, so croutons that are perfectly crisp straight out of the oven will end up being rock hard when they cool. Those are the croutons that hurt your mouth to eat – no one likes that!

Good soup croutons are tossed in butter before they're baked too. The butter helps to make them waterproof, for a little while anyhow. So, dry and buttery. That's what you want.

How long do croutons last? The expected shelf-life for homemade croutons is about two weeks. Moisture encourages mold, so make sure your croutons are completely dehydrated during the bake and let cool completely at room temperature before storing them away in an airtight container.

Let croutons cool in a single layer on the baking sheet. Use immediately or keep in an airtight container for up to 2 days. To refresh stale croutons, bake for 3 to 4 minutes at 400 degrees.

Eggs, or egg substitutes help add structure to the cornbread. Without an egg or substitute, the cornbread may crumble and fall apart easily.

Should you let cornbread batter rest? ›

1Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). We recommend allowing cornbread batter to sit for 10 to 15 minutes before baking, so if you prefer, you can delay heating the oven until you make the batter. 2Melt the butter, and then set aside to cool slightly.

To achieve the crispiest golden crust on your cornbread, Delk Adams instructs you to grease the skillet liberally with bacon grease (if you don't have that, shortening, butter, or oil will do), then pop it into the hot oven for 5 minutes before pouring the batter in.

The most common theory is a change in cornmeal itself. Until early in the 20th century, Southern cornmeal was made with sweeter white corn and it was water-ground. When industrial milling came along, that changed. The steel-roller mills used yellow corn that was harvested before it was ripe, so it had less sugar.

Among them was a version of Indian bread made of cornmeal, salt and water called pone or corn pone. The name came from the Algonquin word apan, meaning "baked." The Narragansett word for cornbread, nokechick, became no-cake and then hoe-cake.

Also referred to as “crumble-in,” this hearty snack of cornbread doused in milk is beloved among communities in the Southern United States, stretching from Appalachian West Virginia to the heart of Texas.

To Store: Once the baked croutons have cooled completely to room temperature, transfer them to an airtight container or large zip-top bag. Store them on the counter for up to 2 weeks. Freezing: You can also freeze croutons for longer-term storage.

The expected shelf-life for homemade croutons is about two weeks. Moisture encourages mold, so make sure your croutons are completely dehydrated during the bake and let cool completely at room temperature before storing them away in an airtight container.

Let croutons cool in a single layer on the baking sheet. Use immediately or keep in an airtight container for up to 2 days. To refresh stale croutons, bake for 3 to 4 minutes at 400 degrees.