Drew's Spicy Croutons

Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 18
• 1 lb bread, slices
• nonstick cooking spray
• 2 teaspoons garlic salt (can add more, if you like)
• 1 teaspoon basil leaves
• 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon onion powder or 1 teaspoon onion salt

Recipe

• 1 note: you can use any kind of bread (fresh or stale) to make croutons: hamburger or hot dog buns, italian or french, multi-grain, sourdough or dinner rolls.
• 2 a great way to use up stale bread.
• 3 just be sure it doesn't have any mold on it.
• 4 preheat oven to 275 degrees.
• 5 spray two large baking sheets (with sides) with non-stick cooking spray.
• 6 using serrated knife, cut bread into small or medium cubes.
• 7 you can stack several slices and cut them all at one time.
• 8 spread bread cubes evenly on the baking sheets.
• 9 spray them generously with non-stick cooking spray.
• 10 sprinkle the seasonings evenly over the bread cubes.
• 11 spray cubes again with non-stick cooking spray.
• 12 taste a bread cube and add more seasonings to taste.
• 13 they should taste very seasoned, as the seasonings mellow somewhat when cooked.
• 14 bake about 45 minutes.
• 15 stir, and continue baking for another 15-60 minutes, stirring occasionally until cubes are lightly browned, dry and crunchy.
• 16 baking time will depend upon the size of cubes and freshness of bread.
• 17 watch during last 30 minutes of cooking, as they can get browned very quickly during the end of cooking time.
• 18 turn oven off and let them sit in the oven for another 30 minutes to dry out completely.
• 19 store in gallon sealable plastic bags.
• 20 save some and store at room temperature for use within 2 weeks and freeze the rest for up to 4 months.
• 21 note: if you do not get them completely dry, they will mold if left at room temperature very long.