“But it’s not really a recipe,” I told Or, and everyone else who asked me how to make homemade croutons. “It’s more of a tip (one I’m a little in love with).”
“Perfect,” she said. “Then put it on the blog.”
Of course, I was still skeptical anyone would care, so I asked on Instagram—and within just a few hours, the crouton photo had hundreds of comments and over 2,500 likes. Okay, fine. I wrote this post.
So let me tell you how this half-recipe, half-tip came to be. Almost every Sunday, I find myself with leftover challah from Friday. Sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. At some point, when I realized there was no way I was throwing it out (after all, I grew up with a Holocaust-survivor grandmother), I decided to turn it into croutons.
The kind you scatter over chopped lettuce, with a dressing that takes a minute to make, and suddenly you have dinner. Or lunch. Or breakfast.
The kind you sprinkle over soup and it instantly turns into a meal.
The kind I like to snack on, like chips or pretzels.
The problem started when I realized every cube of bread or challah needs to be coated in olive oil to get that crisp texture and flavor. And for the spices to stick, the bread has to be slightly moist—otherwise nothing clings. But do you know how much olive oil it takes to coat croutons from half a loaf? A lot. Because if you just drizzle it on top, it soaks into the first pieces it touches. And what about the rest?
So what do you do? Well—one day I decided I was done using half a cup of oil. Instead of just oil, I mixed it… with water.
The logic here is simple: the water and oil create more liquid, without adding calories, and all the spices are mixed into it evenly. When there’s more liquid, it coats all the croutons properly, so every piece gets flavor.
The water evaporates in the oven, and the croutons come out incredibly crisp.
By the way, try tasting the croutons right after they’ve been coated—you’ll see that even before baking, they’re already wonderful. A bit like stuffing or chamin.
One last note about the recipe—what you’ll find here is the basic version, based on half a loaf (preferably one that’s slightly stale). From there, you can add whatever flavors you like.
And don’t forget to read all the notes below.
- Did you make it? Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram so I can share in your delight.