How to Make the Best Croutons in a Deep Fryer
Making croutons in a deep fryer is a snap, although I’m not sure we can rightly call it “cooking.” “Aggressive browning” is probably the most accurate description, although “cooking” also works. Whatever verb you use to describe the process of turning bread into croutons, you should use a deep fat fryer to do so.
This is especially true now, at least in Portland, where temperatures will hit 111 ℉ this Sunday. Now is not the time for the ovens, but the time for the salads, and I really enjoy adding bread to my salad.
Air-fried croutons are not difficult. You could probably figure out how to do them without my tutorial. But I’ve done a lot of them, and I have some suggestions, some tips, and some best practices.
Go and remove the tray from the fryer.
You don’t need this small tray, and removing it allows you to fit more bread into the basket and gives you more room to shake the bread. (If you have a toaster-style deep fryer, leave everything in place.) Rip a piece of bread and toss it into the basket.
Best Hamburger Bun Croutons
Let’s be brutally honest: most toasts are too painful. Croutons made with crunchy bread are too spicy and too chewy and I don’t like it when I eat salad. Commercially produced hamburger and hot dog buns are soft and soft, making the croutons light, crispy and fluffy, yet slightly chewy. The next time you have leftover barbecue leftovers, leave the bag open to speed up the staling process, then tear them into small pieces and toss them into the deep fryer basket. (I also made croutons with fresh buns and they were still very good.)
The buns are also very easy to portion. One bun (hot dog or hamburger) will be enough croutons for one person if that person is really passionate about croutons (or two people if they just love croutons, but are not fond of them).
Don’t worry about preheating your deep fryer
Another way to make croutons without turning on the oven is to fry them in oil or oil until they are brown and crispy, and this works great, but not nearly as quick and easy as making them in a deep fat fryer.
Instead of heating the deep fat fryer to 400 ℉ and then throwing the bread into the basket, I put the bread in the cold basket and let it heat up with the deep fat fryer. If I make one bun croutons – for my personal salad – they are ready by the time the fryer heats up. If I make croutons for a couple of buns, it only takes a couple of minutes.
Let’s make croutons
To make croutons in the air, you will need:
- Stale hamburger or hot dog buns (1 for each salad)
- Olive oil (1 tablespoon per bun)
- Your favorite seasoning mixture, which contains salt (I love Lawry’s – and their garlic salt and their seasoned salt).
Open the fryer and remove the small tray. Tear the buns into small pieces and place them in the basket. Drizzle them with half of the olive oil, stir by shaking the basket, and repeat with the remaining oil. Stir by hand if necessary and make sure each piece of bread is soaked in oil – you want the bread to change color (to yellow, the color of olive oil).
Season the soaked bread heavily with salt. Remember that croutons should act as an exclamation mark in your salad; It’s okay if it’s heavily seasoned and salty. (If your fryer looks like a toaster, do it all in a bowl.)
Close the basket, set the temperature to 400 ℉ and turn it on. After about a minute, open it and shake it. Then let it finish heating up. Once it reaches 400 ℉, open it and see what you are dealing with. If your croutons are brown and crispy, pour them out and let cool. If they are a little pale, cook for another minute. Then add them to salads – cool, crispy salads – and eat.