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Garlic Croutons III

A crunchy snack made from stale Italian bread cubes tossed in olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Olive and garlic are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 25,665 recipes. Both carry linalool, which smells floral, citrus. The science ↓

Garlic Croutons III

Oven400°F (200°C)

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Place cubes on a greased baking sheet and bake at 400°F (200°C) until thoroughly dried.

Season and toast

  1. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.

  2. Add garlic powder, salt, and pepper to the oil and stir.

  3. Add bread cubes to the skillet and toss to coat.

  4. Cook the coated bread cubes until crisp.

  5. Remove from heat and set aside until needed.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

584Calories
13 gProtein
15 gFat
98 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,665 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  2. Garlic + peppertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,090 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Bread + olivetop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,091 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).

  4. Olive + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together30,263 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  5. Bread + garlictop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together767 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Italian bread
Provides the cube structure that dries and crisps into croutons.
Olive oil
Carries the garlic seasoning and helps the bread cubes brown and crisp in the skillet.
Garlic powder
Adds savoury garlic aroma that spreads through the oil onto the bread.

The step that matters

Drying the bread cubes thoroughly. Bread that is still moist steams instead of crisping, so it stays soft. Baking until fully dried removes moisture, which lets the surface toast and become crunchy when fried in oil.

Swap the garlic

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, olive, pepper):

  1. Parsleyfits about as well
  2. Thymefits about as well
  3. Garlicthe original
  4. Basilfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against bread, olive, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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