Cheap Recipe: Chewy Homemade Sourdough Croutons (2024)

FAQs

Why are my homemade croutons chewy? ›

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.

Avoid Using Too Much Flour On Your Dough Surface

Try to minimise the amount of rice flour you use and brush off the excess before baking. If you are rubbing your dough with flour before baking to accentuate your scored designs, this too can dehydrate your crust, causing it to be tougher and more chewy.

No sourdough should not be wet or gummy inside. Wetness or gumminess is caused by under fermented sourdough that has not been baked through fully. Some sourdough breads can be denser in texture, but they should not be wet or gummy.

Your sourdough crust goes soft after cooling because there is still too much moisture in your bread. The baking process should have removed this moisture, but if it's too short, the moisture remains in the crust and softens it as soon as the sourdough cools.

Over-kneading has a tendency to result in chewy bread. Here's how to tell if you've kneaded enough. Another possibility—you used bread flour when all-purpose flour would do. If a recipe with bread flour turned out chewier than you like, try it with all-purpose and knead only as much as the recipe directs.

Crowding the pan.

Pile the bread cubes on top of each other and they won't have enough space to crisp up and brown. Instead, make sure they're in a even layer.

Tearing bread by hand before coating them in fat and seasoning (think olive oil, flavorful garlic, aromatic herbs, and plenty of salt) and baking it yields croutons with uneven edges that get extra crispy in the oven, creating even more of the crispy, crunchy textures that are the key to making better salads at home.

If you over-ferment the dough you run the risk of the gluten structure degrading and the loaf turning into a puddle of goo before your eyes, never to be retrieved and destined for the bin.

tips for avoiding a gummy sourdough loaf - 1) try making a loaf with lower hydration 2) make sure to develop the gluten sufficiently, whether through autolysing, laminating, kneading, or folding 3) make sure to proof long enough 4) make sure to bake long enough and let the loaf cool before cutring #sourdoughtok # ...

The best flour blend for creating a new sourdough starter is 50% whole-meal flour (whole wheat or whole rye) and 50% bread flour or all-purpose flour. I recommend a 50/50 mix of whole wheat flour and bread flour. Why do you need to use these two types of flour?

How to stop croutons from going soggy? ›

You can also grill or fry them, but they might be slightly softer in the middle – lovely on a tomato salad, but won't keep as long as drier baked croutons. If you're baking your croutons, make sure they are well-spaced-out on a shallow tray to ensure they crisp evenly and they don't steam, causing them to become soggy.

You don't want any added moisture in the storage container. Once cooled, store the croutons in an airtight container or jar in a cool, dry place. To soak up any excess moisture, you can add a paper towel to the bottom of the container. Stored at room temperature, the homemade croutons will last up to 3 days.

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.

Most sourdough recipes contain a lot of water for a good reason: more moisture makes for softer, lighter bread. Since more water in the dough creates more steam, bread expands more as it bakes in the oven. Additionally, more moisture creates a looser gluten network making your dough stretchier.

Method 1: High Feeding Ratio

Sometimes you can remediate a weak, acidic starter with a single high feeding ratio. The most common “high feeding ratios” are 1:5:5 and 1:10:10. These ratios help knock down the acidity of your starter with one large feeding.

This may be due to either your flour not being strong enough, or too much water in your dough, or not building up enough structure in your dough during the pulls and folds. As a starting point, try 25g less water in your dough.