Parmesan Croutons

This recipe makes ~6 cups

Directions:

1. Dice up slices of bread into small pieces.  It’s helpful to fill up the tray with bread pieces as you go just to know how much to prepare. Fill the tray up with bread because they will shrink back down as we go.
2. Transfer the croutons back to a mixing bowl and cover the croutons with the broth.
3. Sprinkle on the seasonings you wish to include and toss to incorporate.
4. Add coated bread to a hot frying pan and heat through.
5. Keep the pan moving while heating to avoid bread pieces from sticking together.  (Some clumping is normal and they will break apart after freeze dried).
6. Add the parmesan cheese and heat until it is fully incorporated.
7. Add the croutons to a parchment lined freeze dryer tray.
8. Pre-freezing is always beneficial, but with bread the freeze dryer does well on its own.
9. Freeze dry (my cycle time was 22 hours)
10. Store in jars for short-term use or in mylar bags for long-term storage

Rehydration:

Not intended for rehydration.  These are meant to be eaten as a freeze dried snack or added to a salad.

Notes:

Feel free to adjust the seasonings to your taste.  If you get everything mixed into the bread and want more, just sprinkle it on as you toss your bread in a mixing bowl.

Nutritional Value Per 1 slice worth of croutons

Calories: 228   Protein: 12 g   Fat: 5 g   Carbohydrates: 34 g   Sugar: 1 g   Fiber: 1 g

Cycle times & rehydration for reference only. Your results may vary.