Cornbread Croutons Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you keep homemade croutons crispy? ›

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.

Spread the bread cubes onto the prepared baking sheet, making sure the bread cubes are in an even layer and not touching. If they are too close and overlapping, they won't cook evenly and won't crisp up. Bake for 12 to 20 minutes, tossing halfway through, or until the croutons are golden brown.

Crumbled cornbread can be another great alternative to breadcrumbs, offering a little sweetness while soaking up unwanted moisture. It's also a good way to use up any leftovers.

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.

The key to crispy croutons is making sure that they're fully dried out in the oven and crunchy all the way through. They should not be chewy when they come out of the oven. Bake croutons in a single layer on the baking sheet to crisp up the bread, rather than steaming it.

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.

Cornmeal gives cornbread its classic color and flavor, but too much can make your bread crumbly. Try replacing a little bit of cornmeal with flour. The specific measurements will depend on how much cornmeal and flour is in your recipe, but you should try to have more flour than cornmeal in your batter.

Crushed Nuts or Nut Flours

Crushed nuts and some coarse nut flours (like walnut, almond, and coconut) are a fantastic low-carb coating for fried goods and casseroles, plus they even have some good fats to boost satiety. "They provide a lot of crunch and flavor.

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.

What is cornbread in milk called? ›

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.

Large crusty loaves can be stored unwrapped (to preserve their crispy crust) at room temperature for a day or so, cut side down on the counter. For optimum long-term storage (longer than a couple of days), wrap bread in single-day portions and freeze.

Ample circulation of air is key to keeping lettuce crisp and fresh for longer. For this reason, an air-tight plastic or glass storage container may be preferable over a bag. A container allows the leaves more room so they don't get squished or bruised during storage, allows air circulation within the container.