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Bread Croustades
Cut bread twenty-four hours old in two-inch slices. Cut in squares and hollow out to form boxes. Brush with Mazola, and hollow out to form boxes. Brush with Mazola, dust with salt and bake in a hot oven till browned.
A two-line formula for edible serving cases, and the whole thing hinges on the bread being stale enough to cut cleanly. The printed text repeats a phrase — "Brush with Mazola, and hollow out to form boxes" — which is a compositor's error, not a second step.
- Hot ovenNo temperature is given; "hot oven" in period usage is generally taken as somewhere around 400–450°F. The croustades want to colour and crisp before the walls dry into crackers; at a lower temperature they simply desiccate.
- MazolaA brand of refined corn oil, then heavily advertised as a butter substitute for frying. Any neutral oil works, and melted butter gives better flavour and colour if the filling is rich.
- Twenty-four hours oldFresh bread compresses under the knife and tears when you hollow it. A day-old close-crumbed white loaf, unsliced, is what the recipe assumes; a modern soft sandwich loaf is too open and too moist.
- Cutting the boxesTwo-inch slices; the recipe does not specify how large the squares should be. Score a border about a third of an inch in with the tip of a paring knife, then lift the centre out with a fork or small spoon, leaving a floor at least a quarter-inch thick.
- Brush everythingOil the inside walls and the cut rim as well as the outside. Unoiled crumb inside the cavity stays pale and papery while the exterior browns.
- TimingNone is given. Expect 10–15 minutes, turning the tray once; they are done when the corners are deep gold and the box sounds hollow when tapped.
- Yield and useUse -- They were meant to be filled at the last minute with creamed chicken, mushrooms, sweetbreads or oysters — fill them hot and serve at once, since any sauce softens them within minutes.
- Making aheadThe empty cases keep two or three days in a tin and refresh in a 350°F oven for five minutes. Do not fill them in advance.
Croustade is French for a crust made to hold something else, and the technique is old kitchen economy dressed up for the table: stale bread turned into a vessel so that a small quantity of creamed meat or fish could be served as a distinct course. In American cookbooks of the early twentieth century the croustade belongs to the supper and luncheon chapters, where hostesses wanted individual portions that looked composed without requiring pastry work. The naming of Mazola in the instructions places this book squarely in its moment "e the brand dates to about 1911 and was promoted hard through recipe pamphlets issued by its maker. That is why the fat has a brand name and the bread does not.