• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Cook Like Czechs
  • Recipe Index
  • Czech Republic
  • About
  • Newsletter
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipe Index
  • About
  • Newsletter
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipe Index
    • About
    • Newsletter
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Bread Recipes

    Bread Croutons for Soup

    Published: Aug 8, 2021 · Modified: Feb 9, 2023 by Petra Kupská

    Jump to Recipe
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
    • Email
    • 12shares

    Crispy croutons made from stale bread are a must-have companion to many classic Czech soups such as pea, lentil, or garlic soup. If you love soups, this simple and quick recipe for homemade croutons is for you!

    bread croutons for soup
    Table of Contents hide
    About this Recipe
    Ingredients
    Making Homemade Croutons
    Serving
    Useful Tips
    Bread Croutons for Soup

    About this Recipe

    Czechs prepare croutons (chlebové krutonky) from sliced old bread. The best way to cook homemade croutons is to bake them in the oven or fry them in a pan with a piece of butter until golden brown.

    Ingredients

    bread croutons ingredients
    • Stale rye bread; roll or baguette; ideally 2 to 3 days old. Use any leftover bread you have at home - croutons are also a great way to avoid wasting stale bread. They taste great when made from classic white rolls as well as whole/rye bread, or French baguette. Be careful with toast bread, it's quite soft and if you add a handful of the croutons to the hot soup, they will dissolve immediately.
    • Unsalted butter

    ✅ You’ll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.

    Making Homemade Croutons

    STEP 1: Cut the 2 to 3-day old bread into cubes of about ½ inch (1,5 cm) in diameter.

    cubed old bread for croutons

    STEP 2: Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat and place the bread cubes in it.

    Making bread croutons in a pan.

    STEP 3: Stir briefly and reduce heat to low when cubes begin to turn golden. Fry the croutons until crispy on all sides, turning so they don't burn.

    Making bread croutons in a pan.

    Serving

    Add the croutons to the soup you've already prepared on the table. Don't do it beforehand, as they tend to draw liquid out of the soup right away! It usually doesn't take long for them to become soggy.

    Bread croutons in pea soup.

    The good idea is to put the croutons on the table separately in a bowl so that everyone can serve themselves to their liking.

    bread croutons for soup.

    Useful Tips

    • Croutons can also be baked in the oven. Preheat the oven to 300 °F (150° C), melt the butter on a baking sheet, add the cut croutons and stir. Bake until golden brown, turning the croutons occasionally.
    • Let the cubed bread dry on a baking sheet if you don't want to heat the pan or oven. This may take a few days, but you'll have a ready supply the next time you make soup.
    • Store leftover croutons in a sealed container, so they don't get wet and moldy. If fried in butter, they will be good for a shorter time, about a week. Air-dried, you can use them longer, but check them regularly.

    More delicious recipes

    • Lettuce salad – with buttermilk dressing
    • Pork patties – Czech vepřenky
    • Czech rye bread

    These bread croutons are great for soups. My tip: Browse the category with Czech soups to choose your favorite.

    Tried this recipe?

    Leave a review down in the comments! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

    Follow me on Facebook and Pinterest. Subscribe to my newsletter. Send me any question about Czech cuisine to my e-mail. I love hearing your feedback!

    bread croutons for soup recipe

    Bread Croutons for Soup

    Crispy croutons made from stale bread are a must-have to many classic Czech soups such as pea, lentil, or garlic soup. If you love soups, this simple and quick recipe for homemade croutons is for you!
    Print Pin
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Cook Time: 9 minutes
    Total Time: 14 minutes
    Servings: 2
    Calories: 99kcal
    Author: Petra Kupská
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Course: bread
    Cuisine: Czech
    Keyword: Bread recipes

    Ingredients

    • 2 slice stale rye bread or baguette, roll; 2-3 days old
    • ½ Tbsp unsalted butter

    Instructions

    • Cut the 2 to 3-day old bread into cubes of about ½ inch (1,5 cm).
    • Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat and place the bread cubes in it.
    • Stir briefly and reduce heat to low when cubes begin to turn golden. Fry the croutons until crispy on all sides, turning so they don't burn.

    Notes

    1. SERVING: Add the croutons to the soup you've already prepared on the table. Don't do it beforehand, as they tend to draw liquid out of the soup right away! It usually doesn't take long for them to become soggy.
    2. The good idea is to put the croutons on the table separately in a bowl so that everyone can serve themselves to their liking.
    3. Croutons can also be baked in the oven. Preheat the oven to 300 °F (150° C), melt the butter on a baking sheet, add the cut croutons and stir. Bake until golden brown, turning the croutons occasionally.
    4. Let the cubed bread dry on a baking sheet if you don't want to heat the pan or oven. This may take a few days, but you'll have a ready supply the next time you make soup

    DISCLAIMER: Because I come from Central Europe, my recipes are based on metric units such as grams or milliliters. Check out how I convert metric units to the U.S. system:

    Conversion chart

    Nutritional Estimate pro portion

    Calories: 99kcal
    Do you like the recipe?I would be happy for your feedback! Please, rate the recipe and share your opinion or questions in comments bellow. Thank you very much.
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
    • Email
    • 12shares

    More from Czech Bread Recipes

    • Baked rye rolls on a baking sheet.
      Rye Bread Rolls (Czech Dalamanky)
    • Baked bread rolls on a brown wooden board.
      Onion Bread Rolls
    • Czech rye bread (chleba) on a wooden board.
      Czech Rye Bread (Chleba)
    • Czech Bac savory potato cake sliced and served on a plate.
      Savory Potato Cake (Czech Bac)

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a star rating and review or ask a question! Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Hi there, I’m Petra, a self-taught home cook and a Czech mom of two teen boys with more than 20 years of cooking experience. I am here to share traditional recipes from the Czech Republic, a small country in the very heart of Europe.

    More about me →

    Popular

    • Sliced nut roll on a grey plate, with a dessert fork.
      Slovak Nut Roll (Orechovy Zavin)
    • Two green kohlrabies.
      How to Cut Kohlrabi
    • Braised sweet and sour kohlrabi in a skillet.
      Braised Kohlrabi (Czech Kedlubnové zelí)
    • Seasoning goulash in a blue pot.
      Herbs and Spices in Czech Cuisine

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    All Things Czech

    • Czech Recipes
    • Czech Republic
    • Conversions U.S. to metric

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for new recipes, stories and more Czech stuff

    Useful Links

    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

    Copyright © 2023 CookLikeCzechs.com