Croutons are made of flour and water and are just crispy bites of toasted bread.
Basically a crouton is bread that is chopped up in small pieces and toasted so it's essentially just toasted bread.
A crouton is a piece of toasted or fried bread, normally cubed and seasoned.
Croutons are used to add texture and flavor to salads—notably the Caesar salad— as an accompaniment to soups and stews, or eaten as a snack food.
Croutons are a good source of vitamin B, and it delivers 0.2 milligram of thiamin or 12 percent daily value, 1.6 milligrams of niacin or 8 percent daily value, and 0.1 milligram of riboflavin or 5 percent daily value.
Buttery croutons give creamy tomato soup some delicious texture.
The croutons are also wonderful on top of chilled potato soup.
Or silky broccoli-spinach soup. Or really, any pureed soup to ever come out of your kitchen.
There are some brands of croutons that are vegan but most tend to contain dairy or egg in the flavorings even if the bread used is naturally vegan.
Always check the ingredients thoroughly before purchasing to be sure.
Some good alternatives to croutons are.
Wasabi Peas.
Sriracha/Hot Sauce.
Veggie Chips. Great on a salad OR as a salad all its own.
Dried Fruit.
Roasted Chickpeas.
Shrimp.
Pumpkin Seeds.
Nuts.
Depending on how dry and crisp your croutons are, the croutons will last for up to a week in an airtight container, but will be at their best for the first two days.
You can refresh them in the oven for a few minutes to crisp up again if you like.
Nearly any type of bread—in a loaf or pre-sliced, with or without crust—may be used to make croutons.
Dry or stale bread or leftover bread is usually used instead of fresh bread.
Once prepared, the croutons will remain fresh far longer than unprepared bread.