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Bread Croutons for Entrees
Cut into slices half an inch in thickness some bread, and form into heart-shaped pieces about two inches in length; melt in a fryingpan some butter and fry the bread in it until it is a light yellow, being careful to color all alike.
A garnish, not a dish: these are the fried bread hearts set around a ragout, sweetbreads or a creamed entrée. Two things decide whether they work — stale bread and even color.
- The hinge: use day-old breadBread choice -- The recipe specifies only half-inch slices of bread. Firm white bread that is a day old, rather than very fresh, absorbs less butter before it browns; trimming the crusts is optional and not called for here.
- Cutting the heartsThe recipe asks for heart-shaped pieces about two inches long, cut from half-inch slices; a cutter is convenient but not specified, and a plain round or triangle serves as well. Keeping the pieces the same size and thickness helps them brown evenly, which supports the instruction to "color all alike."
- Butter alone will burnWatch the butter -- Whole butter's milk solids darken quickly if the pan is hot, and the recipe wants only a light yellow; clarified butter, or butter with a little neutral oil, makes the pale gold easier to hold. Keep the heat moderate and go by color rather than a clock.
- Turn once, drain standing upPress lightly with a spatula so the surface meets the pan evenly, then drain the croutons on paper set on edge rather than flat so the underside does not steam soft.
- QuantityNo yield is given. Reckon two or three croutons per plate as a border; how many hearts a slice yields depends on the loaf, since the recipe calls for slices cut half an inch thick rather than pre-sliced bread.
- Timing with the serviceFried bread softens as it stands, so fry the croutons shortly before serving, while the entrée is being sauced.
Croûton is simply the diminutive of croûte, crust, and in the classical French kitchen the word meant these fried shapes long before it meant the cubes scattered on a salad. Heart-shaped croutons — croûtons en coeur — were often used as a border for saucy entrées in the late nineteenth-century repertoire, giving a plate of ragout, blanquette or sweetbreads an edge of contrast and a way to lift sauce from the dish. Oscar Tschirky's book, drawn from the Waldorf's service in the 1890s, is full of such small supporting components.