Fastest French Croutons
Fastest French Croutons
Freshly baked croutons from kid-made yeasted dough! A welcome addition to salads and soups, like Very "Vichyssoise" Potato Leek Soup!
Happy & Healthy Cooking,
Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills
- bake :
to cook food with dry heat, as in an oven.
- rest (dough) :
to let bread or pastry dough relax, allowing the dough to absorb more liquid and become more pliable before shaping it.
- shape :
to form food into a specific shape by hand or with a cutting tool—examples are cutting cookie dough into shapes with cookie cutters, forming bread dough into a roll or crescent shape, and rolling ground meat into a meatball.
Equipment Checklist
- Oven
- Baking sheet or mini-muffin pan
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
Ingredients
Fastest French Croutons
- 1/4 C warm water
- 2 1/2 T butter, at room temperature **(for DAIRY ALLERGY sub dairy-free/nut-free butter, like Earth Balance brand OR olive oil)**
- 1 T active dry yeast
- 2 T granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 egg **(for EGG ALLERGY sub 1 1/2 T vegetable oil + 1 1/2 T water + 1 tsp baking powder)**
- 1 3/4 C all-purpose flour **(for GLUTEN ALLERGY sub gluten-free/nut-free all-purpose flour)**
- 1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese **(for DAIRY ALLERGY sub 2 T nutritional yeast)**
- 2 T chopped fresh chives or parsley, optional
- cooking spray or oil to grease pan
Food Allergen Substitutions
Fastest French Croutons
- Dairy: Substitute dairy-free/nut-free butter, like Earth Balance brand OR olive oil. For 1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese, substitute 2 T nutritional yeast.
- Egg: For 1 egg, substitute 1 1/2 T vegetable oil + 1 1/2 T water + 1 tsp baking powder.
- Gluten/Wheat: Substitute gluten-free/nut-free all-purpose flour.
Instructions
Fastest French Croutons
intro
A crouton is a seasoned fried or toasted bread cube added to salads and soups for texture. The word comes from the French "croûton," which can also mean "crust."
combine + rest
In a medium mixing bowl, have kids measure and combine 1/4 cup warm water, 2 1/2 tablespoons room temperature butter, 1 tablespoon active dry yeast, and 2 tablespoons sugar. Allow the mixture to rest for 8 to 10 minutes, while the yeast wakes up!
scrumptious science
Even though yeast looks like large grains of sand, it is actually a living organism. Yeast is a label broadly used to describe about 1,500 different kinds of fungi. This means that yeast makes up about one percent of the fungus you would come across in the world. The type we are using today is called active dry yeast. It means that the yeast is alive but sleeping in its container. To "wake up" the yeast, you will need to feed it its favorite breakfast: sugar! Once the yeast begins eating the sugar, it creates a byproduct: carbon dioxide. (I like to think of the yeast as burping little, itty bitty burps from eating the sugar too fast!) This carbon dioxide will later be trapped inside the crouton dough you are creating in this recipe, which is super important for making a light texture.
crack + whisk + add
Crack 1 egg and whisk into the yeast mixture. If using, add 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese and 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives or parsley.
preheat + mix + count
Preheat your oven to 400 F. Measure and mix together 1 3/4 cups flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small mixing bowl. Add the flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time to the wet ingredients and mix well until a dough is formed. Count to 5 in French while mixing: 1 un (uhn), 2 deux (deuh), 3 trois (twah), 4 quatre (KAH-truh), 5 cinq (sank).
shape + rest
Kids can shape the dough into 12 to 18 small balls and let them rest for at least 5 and up to 20 minutes—the longer the dough rests, the more it will rise!
bake + serve
Place the dough balls on a greased baking sheet or mini-muffin pan and bake for 15 minutes or until the tops are just golden brown. Serve with salad or soup, like Very "Vichyssoise" Potato Leek Soup!
Hi! I'm Baker's Yeast!
"Did you know that I'm a living organism? If you add baker's yeast to dough, it will cause your bread, cinnamon rolls, doughnuts, and more to rise up! Just add me to warm water with a little sugar (which I love to eat) and wait at least five minutes until I burp some gas bubbles (excuse me!) and get foamy at the top before adding me to your flour and other ingredients!"
- Yeasts are single-celled, microscopic members of the fungus kingdom. Baker's yeast is from the species Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It is the strain of yeast used to leaven (or raise) bread and other types of dough. It is also used in beer and winemaking.
- There are several varieties of baker's yeast: active dry yeast, compressed yeast, cream yeast, deactivated yeast, instant yeast, and rapid-rise yeast. Home bakers and Sticky Fingers Cooking chef instructors generally use active dry yeast, instant yeast, or rapid-rise yeast when baking.
- Active dry yeast must be activated by adding a warm liquid, like water or milk. Its granules are larger than the other dry yeasts, instant and rapid-rise, which do not have to be rehydrated (or proofed).
- The word "yeast" comes from the Old English "gist," of Germanic origin, from an Indo-European root "yes-," meaning to "boil," "foam," or "bubble."
- Baker's yeast has some protein, fiber, B vitamins, and potassium; however, the amount you would get from a packet of active dry yeast distributed throughout a dough would be minimal.
- Nutritional yeast, a deactivated yeast, contains more protein, fiber, B vitamins, and potassium than active dry yeast. People who eat a vegan or vegetarian diet often add nutritional yeast to foods to supplement these nutrients and add a nutty or cheesy flavor to foods.
History of Croutons!
- A crouton is a small cube or piece of fried or toasted bread. The origin and history of the crouton is unknown. However, since the word comes from the French word "croûton," the diminutive of "croûte," meaning crust, it may have originated in France. Croutons probably began as pieces of stale bread crusts.
- Any bread can be used to make croutons, including French bread or baguette, cornbread, and sourdough.
- For extra flavor and texture, seasoned croutons are often added to soups and salads, especially Caesar salads. They are a major ingredient in turkey stuffing or dressing.
Let's Learn About France!
- Bonjour (hello)! Bienvenue en (welcome to) France and the spectacular Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Mona Lisa, painted by Leonardo da Vinci, and ancient Roman ruins in the Provence region.
- France is a European country, and its official name is the French Republic. The capital city is Paris, which also has the most people.
- France's land area is 248,573 square miles. That is almost the size of the US state of Texas! The number of people in France is 67,874,000, about 43 percent more than in Texas.
- The official and national language is French, which is also the official language in 12 other countries, and a co-official language in 16 countries, including Canada.
- France's government consists of a president, a prime minister, and a parliament and is divided into regions and departments rather than states and counties.
- The French have a well-known motto, "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity."
- In addition to the Eiffel Tower, France is known for the Louvre, the most visited art museum worldwide (the Mona Lisa resides there), the Notre-Dame Cathedral, and the French Riviera (Côte d'Azur) in southeastern France on the Mediterranean coast.
- France is famous for the "beaux-arts" (fine arts). Paris is still home to many artists and great painters, artisans, and sculptors. Great literature came from French authors, such as Victor Hugo's novels Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
- Paris has two popular nicknames. The most common is "The City of Light" (La Ville Lumière), which came about because Paris was the first European city to implement street lighting in 1860, lighting up the city with 56,000 gas street lamps. The second is "The City of Love," (La Ville de L'amour). This name is probably due to Paris being considered one of the most romantic cities in the world and the high number of marriage proposals at the Eiffel Tower!
- French cuisine is known for its freshness and high quality. Many of the world's greatest pastries originated in France, such as the croissant, eclair, and macaron!
- Other French foods are escargot (snails!), baguette (bread), ratatouille (roasted tomato, zucchini, and eggplant—remember the movie?!), and crepes (very thin pancakes).
What's It Like to Be a Kid in France?
- Most kids start school (preschool) at around age three. Depending on the area and the school, students go to school 4 to 5 days a week. They often get a 1½-hour lunch break, and some kids go home for lunch.
- Dinner is served at 7:30 pm or later, so afternoon snacks are essential. "Le goûter" (goo-tay), or afternoon tea, often includes a "tartine," a slice of bread topped with something sweet or savory (like cheese, butter and jam, or Nutella). Other popular snacks are yogurt, fromage blanc (white cheese), and fruit.
- Popular sports for kids are soccer, bicycling, and tennis.
- There are several parks in France, in and around Paris. Napoleon III even designed one of them, the Bois de Boulogne, where you can find beautiful gardens, lakes, a zoo, an amusement park, and two horse racing tracks. In addition, kids can go on pony rides, play mini-golf, and race remote control boats at many public parks.
- Of course, kids can also go to the most popular theme park in Europe, Disneyland Paris, which opened in 1992. While there, kids can go on a ride unique to Disneyland Paris: Ratatouille: The Adventure!
That's Berry Funny
What did the yeast confess to the bag of flour?
I loaf you dough much!
The Yolk's On You
What did the yeast say to the bag of flour?
Come on, we knead to be serious!
The Yolk's On You
If protons have a positive charge, and electrons have a negative charge, …
… how much should we charge for croutons?!
Lettuce Joke Around
What’s an atom’s favorite salad topping?
Croutons!
