As a child, one of the main reasons I looked forward to soup was the croutons that went into them. Amma would have to ration out the croutons because otherwise, we’d probably not touch the soup.
Even today, when I travel by train, I buy myself a cup of hot tomato soup. And eagerly wait for the vendor to put those 3 croutons into the cup. The soup is nothing but hot pepper water, but the croutons make me believe that it really is tomato soup!
I baked “herbie” bread and then converted it into croutons that I can store. These are great as a snack as well. Plus there is no need to ration these out anymore.
2 cups Flour
1 cup Atta
1 tbsp Mixed Herbs
1 tsp Chilli Flakes
1 cup Water
1 tsp Yeast
1 1/2 tbsp Oil
3/4 tsp Salt
Take a huge mixing bowl and place the oil, salt in it. Add water and mix until the salt dissolves. Add the yeast and mix well. Add the flours along with the herbs and chilli flakes and knead into a dough. Place the dough in a greased vessel and cover it with a damp muslin cloth. Allow to rise until double in size (roughly 45-50 minutes).
Knead the dough for a minute and shape into a loaf. Fit this into a greased loaf tin. Allow to rise for another hour or 90 minutes.
Bake at 375 F for about 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and then cut into slices.
Cut the slices into small cubes and bake in a hot oven (450F) for 15 minutes. The cubes will be nice and crisp by now. Store them in an airtight container and use in your salads or soups.
8 comments:
You can definitely call it Herbie...fully loaded....with herbs :)
I also loved the vethal kuzhambu.....reminds me of my childhood days when my grandma made us (me and my cousins) sit down in a circle and put a dollop of thayir saadham in our hands and then a little bit of her hot vethal kuzhambu to go with it....
Croutons really elevate the experience! In ordinary hotels (if they serve croutons), these are what make tomato soup tolerable!
I love the croutons (a little bit more than the soup) :) Especially tomato soup with some buttery croutons - yum. My husband absolutely requires croutons to have a soup so I usually bake some up with some old bread too. Toss in some garlic powder and dried herbs with some olive oil.. That looks so herbilicious.
I make my own croutons too...aren't they great :-)
I was browsing the foodie blog roll tonight and came across your blog! This recipe looks fabulous!
just love those croutons..haven't been able to decide whether its the soup that i like or the croutons that come with it!!great entry!!
wow..I prefer to eat them as such!!..nice way to use the herbs and then baking them too..
Wow, you made your own croutons, awesome! I bet if I made them, they wouldn't last till even picture time :P
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