Stale bread in the air fryer made the best croutons I've ever had

I had a loaf of French bread that was three days old and rock hard. Instead of tossing it, I cubed it up, tossed it with olive oil, garlic powder, and some dried herbs, and threw it in the air fryer at 350 degrees for about 6 minutes. I shook the basket halfway through and the result was these perfectly crunchy, golden croutons that tasted way better than anything from a bag. The air fryer crisped them evenly without burning the edges, which my oven always seems to do. I learned that stale bread is actually ideal for this because it absorbs the oil better and gets crunchier faster. Has anyone else found a use for old bread in their air fryer that turned out better than expected?

2 comments

2 Comments

terrybennett25d ago

Saw something on YouTube where a guy did the same thing but added parmesan before air frying and it looked killer. Way better than oven croutons cause the hot air hits every side of the cube instead of just the top. I gotta try this with some leftover sourdough I got sitting here, been using it for breadcrumbs but croutons sound way better. That trick about stale bread soaking up oil more is legit too, read about it in a food science blog once.

elizabethn5625d ago

Tossed it with olive oil, garlic powder, and some dried herbs" - fancy talk for "I made seasoned cardboard and it worked." That's wild, stale bread is usually just good for doorstops or throwing at pigeons. I guess I'll have to try this next time my loaf turns into a hockey puck, though my luck it'll just catch fire in the air fryer. At least you saved six bucks on bagged croutons, so that's a win in my book.