Crostini - Simply delicious

Crostini is very easy to make and can be used as the foundation for many dishes. It can be made using day old bread or sliced bread from your freezer. It can be flavored traditionally or tailored to your dish. This technique really only takes 20-25 minutes end-to-end. Freshly made crostini really makes all the difference in your final dish.

Ingredients

1 loaf of French bread sliced into 1/4 to 3/8 inch pieces

1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

Preparation (20-25 mins)

Set up your cutting board using a towel with all of your ingredients ready to go.

Everything ready to go

Slice the French bread on a bias about 1/4 to 3/8 inch think. If you are pulling previously sliced bread out of the freezer, you can skip this step. Note: the thicker the bread, the longer it will need to be in the oven to make it crispy all the way through. For some recipes like garlic bread, thicker slices are better.

Slicing the bread about 3/8 in. thick

Spread the pieces flat on a baking sheet

Laying the bread on the tray

Drizzle olive oil onto each piece

Drizzling olive oil onto each piece

Optional step: brush the olive oil to spread evenly. If you are using a squirt bottle, this step may not be necessary.

Brushing the olive oil onto each piece

Lightly salt each piece.

Salting each piece on the tray

Lightly pepper each piece.

Peppering each piece on the tray

Preheat oven to 375 and bake for 12-15 minutes.

After 15 minutes of baking

Remove and enjoy with a dip.

Crostini with tomato braised capers and parmesan

Some variations on this technique may include taking raw garlic and rubbing it onto the bread before you spread on the olive oil or you could flavor the oil with an herb mix to provide another layer of flavor. Bon Appetit!