Gluten Free Bread: Crouton Magic

Bread dough looks a little stiff but let’s try it anyway.  I know people say you need to adjust things based on the weather, day of the week and phases of the moon, but I think I’ll just let it go and see what happens.

Looking good.  Oh dear, not cooked thru. I set it on the 80 minute gluten free cycle and there’s no way it’s done.

Now, how to fix it…. Oh there’s a Bake cycle. Let’s just set this for another hour and see what happens.

Wow! Looks fabulous and it rose a lot higher too. Good. That extra hour of baking seemed to help. Time to pull it out and see what it looks like.Looks good, now let’s cut into it and see the inside.

Oh my! A complete disaster. Uncooked portions, a huge caved in area on the bottom and the edges are all brown and crisp. What a mess!

How did this happen? Probably not enough liquid. The dough was very dry for gluten free bread. Maybe the yeast in the mix wasn’t the best.

I should probably try to go with a more tried and true recipe.

You know, sometimes even when you do everything right, it still turns out wrong. Is it really a complete disaster? Can we do nothing with this? Well, it won’t make sliced bread for toast, that’s for sure. What else to do……..

A few things come to mind. So, let’s see if we can “fix” our mess.

Option 1: Croutons

First thing to do is cut it into 1/4″ cubes and dry in the oven until hard. Croutons are a great thing to have and don’t you just miss having these little crunchy bits of goodness on your salad.

Take some with you in a small baggy on your next lunch or dinner date and pour the little beauties on top of your salad!

Option 2: Bread Coating

Croutons are nice, but you have a lot of “disaster” gluten free bread. Ok…. still turn it all into croutons and then do this:

Whiz enough in your food processor to make about a cup or two. Dip your chicken tenders or boneless chicken breasts in gluten free flour, then eggs or milk and then cover with the whizzed croutons. You can also mix your bread crumbs with pecans or walnuts and use that for the coating.

Fry up in a cast iron skillet and pour on the gravy!

Doesn’t that look yummy. Watch out Cracker Barrel – we’re coming to take over.

Option 3: Meatball or Meatloaf mix

Want more you say? Well, how about using your bread crumbs for a tenderizer for meatloaf and meatballs. Store some in the freezer so you have them handy when you want to make some real comfort food. 

Add 1/2 cup of crumbs for every 1 lb. of ground beef.

Option 4: Stuffing

Another thing you can do with your croutons is make stuffing. Follow the recipe below for your own version of Stove Top Stufing:

For every 2 cups of croutons add:
1 tsp parsley flakes
1/3 tsp thyme and pepper
1/4 tsp. sage and salt
1Tblsp. dried onion flakes

Mix together.  Add 1/2 cup boiling water and 2 Tblsp. butter in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add the croutons and spices and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes.

 You don’t have to have a turkey to make it. Serve with ham or steak or chicken or pork chops or roasted vegetables or whatever. You get the idea.

Option 5: Bread Pudding

And one more thing to do with croutons: make bread pudding. It’s like a sweet stuffing dish. Instead of using chicken broth, you add eggs and whipping cream to make a custard that you soak the bread pieces in. Add some dried fruit or diced apples and bake in the oven. 

Fantabulious stuff! 

If you have other ideas, drop me a comment down below on the blog. Share with others. We’re all  in this together you know.

Kathy

PS… There really are no “disasters” you can’t recover from. Just turn it into something else. I know you can. I have faith in you.