In the pursuit of an ever better loaf of sourdough we inevitably end up with a surplus of bread. To me this represents an exciting opportunity to make beautiful fresh and dried breadcrumbs suited to a whole range of dishes. Stuffings for roasts and vegetables, coatings for chicken and chops and toppings for mornays and gratins. I am sure in time we will feature recipes for some of these dishes.
I also love making parmesan croutons from our left over sourdough. One of my pet hates is ordering a salad in a cafe or restaurant and finding in it hard, tasteless, bland and boring commercial croutons. Our croutons are torn by hand rather than cut so their irregular shape deliciously traps the dressing of the salad and the parmesan in which the croutons have been tossed provides an extra hit of flavour. Our croutons make a delicious snack accompaniment to afternoon drinks. If this is what I am using them for I add a little salt and fresh ground black pepper. If my main intention is to use them for salads, I leave the seasoning until then.
Sourdough Croutons
Ingredients
A chunk of sourdough, crusts removed
Some good quality olive oil
Grated parmesan
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
Method
Preheat your oven to 180C
Coarsely tear the bread into pieces 25mm to 30mm in length and place in a mixing bowl.
Pour over enough olive oil over to coat all the pieces of bread.
Add a generous measure of grated parmesan and toss to combine ensuring all the bread pieces are generously coated with oil and parmesan.
Add seasoning if desired.
Spread out evenly on a baking paper lined baking tray and bake for 15 minutes.
Using tongs, turn the bread over and bake for a further 5 minutes then remove to a plate any pieces that have turned golden brown.
Bake another 5 minutes and check again, removing all golden pieces and repeat again if necessary.
All pieces should be baked by now. It is important you keep a close eye on the baking process as they can turn from golden to dark brown very quickly. Your diligence will be rewarded by the great flavours and textures you will produce.
Store in an airtight container until required.
Fresh Sourdough Breadcrumbs
Method
Remove crusts from sourdough that is at least three days old. Cut into 20mm pieces and place in a food processor and process until fully crumbed.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator or in plastic freezer bags and freeze until required.
Dried Sourdough Breadcrumbs
Method
There are two ways of doing this but I don't recommend the first due to the wear and tear and possible damage to your food processor. This involves breaking the bread into 30mm chunks, placing them on a baking tray and baking at 120C until they are very dry (about 45 minutes). These are then processed in a food processor until fine.
The way I recommend making dried breadcrumbs is to process 20mm pieces of bread as per the fresh breadcrumbs then spread on a baking tray.
Bake at 120C for around 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes initially then every 5 minutes until all the crumbs are properly dry.
Store in an airtight container until required.
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