Bowl of crab bisque soup topped with 3 large croutons

Other than that, white, wholemeal, sourdough, granary or whatever bread you like will work. Sourdough makes hearty, chewier croutons, brioche delicate ones and narrow ficelle (baguette style) loaves can be used in whole slices. Whatever bread you use, make sure it's slightly stale as it’s easier to make croutons with bread than isn’t too fresh and squashy. Crust on or crust off is up to you.

How to cook croutons

You can fry croutons in oil (add a little butter as well for flavour if you like) in a frying pan or brush/toss them with oil and then bake or grill them – whichever suits you best. Use any oil you like but bear in mind that it will add some of its own flavour to the finished croutons. Olive oil and rapeseed oil both work well.

Adding flavour

You can toss croutons in ground or whole spices, chopped herbs, crushed garlic or even grated parmesan before cooking them. Add the flavourings to the oil and then toss the croutons in the oil and flavourings so they stick.

Super simple croutons recipe

Serves 2

2 thick slices bread from a large loaf (see above)
2-3 tbsp rapeseed oil
salt flakes

1 Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Trim the crusts off the slices if you like and then cut into cubes.

2 Toss the bread in the oil and sprinkle with salt, scatter the pieces on to an oven tray and bake for 8-10 mins or until the croutons are browned and crunchy.