Fiber, graham crackers, and other notes of middling to no interest!

 I've republished my psyllium gluten free baking book as the 'Happy Fiber Book,' with a little synopsis on fiber (exciting, I know!) to make it more palatable to the fiber community (if there is such a thing) or for those who like whole grains but haven't a clue about gluten free baking.  There are a couple new recipes in both along with a new cover, as well as updating the haphazard guide.  Also the graham cracker recipe is missing 1/2 cup brown sugar and becomes a nice pliable dough instead of a semi-liquid with the psyllium.

Boldy going where apparently nobody has ever gone before? Making bread specifically to make croutons!

 There are very few things you can't find on the internet, one of them is obscure acoustic guitars last made in the late '70s, another is apparently the egregious sin of making bread specifically to make croutons.  To most people, croutons are best procured pre-made by the modern industrial food complex.  And there is nothing wrong with that.  Most people don't make their own bread, let alone their own croutons.  Or they have some leftover bread they want to use up before it turns into a rock or grows penicillium mold and is therefore no longer organic (sorry, science joke!).  But why on earth would you go to the trouble of making bread and then turn around and 'ruin' the wondrous creation by turning it into croutons?  The simple answer is dietary necessity!

I love commercial croutons, they are cheap and tasty, but alas, due to dietary restrictions I can no longer eat them.  There are probably some really good gluten free ones out there too, but I can't afford them and they likely contain stuff I can't eat anyway.  The other issue is that gluten free bread has to be eaten warm or toasted, which is great if I'm at home and need a meal, but what happens when I'm road tripping or working a twelve hour shift somewhere that makes our semi-wild road trips look urban and civilized?  I need something I can eat on the trail, in the car, or in the barn that doesn't taste worse than the plastic bento box I pack it in.  Chips and crackers and I don't really get along and packing gluten free bread is a drag, especially on my appetite, ugh!  Then I remembered croutons.  So yes, to me they are a vital necessity when away from home (and a great snack when I'm there too!).  I often had bits and pieces of gluten free bread products I wanted to use up anyway but lately that hasn't been the case, so can I make bread just to make croutons?  Is there something I can do to streamline the process?  Google wasn't helpful in the least, but I remember life before the internet, so I thought maybe it was possible, even if the interweb failed to agree with me.

I took a rimmed baking sheet, sprayed it with cooking spray, spread out my usual bread dough in it, so it was about 1 cm thick and then covered it and let it rise.  I then baked it until golden brown and solid.  I let it cool on a wire rack then cut it into 3/4 inch squares, tossed them with butter, bouillon, and garlic pepper, and then toasted them until crunchy in my ninja foodi.  Yes, you can make bread just to make croutons!  Take that google!