These croutons are used by the Chicken and Tuna Casseroles. They toast during the baking of those dishes. They can also be toasted in a toaster oven or regular oven to use with soup or salads. The bread should be firm with some flavor, we use Portland French Rustic Hard Crust Wheat. Feel free to choose spices that work best with your 'application'.
| 3 or more slices | wheat bread |
| 2+ T | olive oil |
| to taste | salt |
| to taste | black pepper |
| a generous pinch | dried oregano |
| a generous pinch | dried thyme |
| ¼-½ tsp | paprika (preferably smoked Spanish) |
Stack the slices of bread and slice them into ½-¾ slices the long way, maintaining the stack. Then cut across the stack at the same interval to make bread cubes. Place these in a 2-quart bowl.
Drizzle the olive oil over the cubes and stir to distribute over all of them. Now, sprinkle salt over the top, then pepper. Take a big pinch of dried oregano and rub between your fingers to crush it, letting it sprinkle over the top, doing the same with the thyme. Finally, sprinkle the paprika over to color the top as well. I sometimes add a bit of Aleppo chile (from Penzeys) or ground Cayenne to perk things up a bit. Stir the croutons to distribute the spices.
Pour over the top of the casserole if that's their use, or toast and put in a bowl for use in a salad or with soup.