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Croustades
Cut two-inch slices of bread and trim off the crusts. Remove center a half inch from each edge, being careful not to break through the bottom. They may be either toasted, sautéd, buttered and browned in the oven, or fried in deep fat.
A croustade is a bread case for holding creamed leftovers; the recipe is really a shaping technique, and the only difficulty is keeping the walls intact.
- The bread matters more than the methodThe recipe says nothing about the loaf, but a close-grained, day-old white loaf, unsliced, will hold better when hollowed; very fresh or soft modern sandwich bread is likely to tear or collapse once filled.
- Two-inch slicesThat is a genuinely thick cut, about 5 cm, giving a case roughly the depth of a ramekin. The recipe specifies no width, only that the crusts be trimmed off.
- HollowingScore the inner rectangle half an inch in from each edge with the point of a small knife, then lift the center out with a fork or the tip of a spoon. The recipe's only caution is not to break through the bottom, or the filling will soak through and the base will give way.
- Oven method"Buttered and browned in the oven" means brushing inside and out with melted butter and baking until the edges are dry and pale gold; the recipe gives neither temperature nor time. Of the four methods offered, this one can be done ahead.
- Deep fatFry in hot deep fat, holding the case under with a slotted spoon so it colors evenly; the recipe gives no temperature. Bread browns very quickly, so watch it closely; drain hollow-side down on paper.
- Save the crumbThe centers you remove and the trimmed crusts become fresh breadcrumbs, which is very much the logic of this book. Dry them in the cooling oven if you are not using them at once.
- Filling and yieldReckon one croustade per person as a first course, two as a light supper. Fill only at the moment of serving with something thick enough to hold its shape: creamed vegetables, a bound hash, mushrooms in a heavy white sauce.
Croustade is generally traced back through French to Provençal croustado and ultimately Latin crusta, crust, and the form belongs to the fashion for serving small quantities of sauced food in an edible container rather than a dish. Grander tables used pastry cases or, earlier still, hollowed loaves; bread croustades were the economical version. Their appearance in a book of left-overs is exactly to the point: the case is made from one leftover and holds another, and nothing goes to the crumb bin except what will be turned into breadcrumbs. The related timbale cases and patty shells served the same purpose in pastry.