Crostini

A quick recipe for how to make crostini, crispy little pieces of toast ready for you favourite toppings, dunking and scooping!

Crostini use suggestions: canapés with toppings, for dips (especially excellent with Baked Brie), side dish for meals such as Acqua Pazza (Italian Fish in Tomato Sauce), dunking into Soups and stews!

“Crostini” means “little crusts” (ie. “little toasts”) in Italian and that’s exactly what they are:  Thin slices of bread, brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with salt then baked until crisp. It’s typically used to pile on toppings though I’m a fan of using crostini for dunking and scooping at every opportunity.

This is just a short and sweet tutorial for how to make crostini which I decided to publish separately because I’ve been using it quite regularly for recipes I’ve been sharing. Saves me writing the same recipe in the notes over and over again!

How to make crostini

To make crostini, just brush thinly sliced bread with olive oil, sprinkle with salt then bake for 10 minutes at 180°C/350°F until crispy.

For optional extra deliciousness, lightly rub the hot crostini with the cut face of a garlic clove. This is an Italian secret that makes bruschetta so delicious!

Best bread for crostini

The best bread to use for crostini is one that’s got a bit of structure and heft to it, such as:

• ciabatta

• pane di casa / pain de campagne

• stone-baked loaf

• sourdough.

If you use the soft white baguettes, the crostini will soak through immediately once sauced and just become soggy. You want it to stay crispy even once sauced so you can pile it up with the fish and vegetables – it’s the best eating experience!

Bread size – I use the thin baguettes, then I slice them differently depending on what I’m using the crostini for.

• Long crostini – slice on an extreme angle for long ones. I typically use long crostini when I’m using crostini as a dunker or serving on the side of a meal.

• Short / small crostini – cut on less of an angle to make smaller pieces when you want to use the crostini for bite size canapés.

What to use crostini for

• Toppings – For hand held, bite size canapés or a light meal. See Toppings for Crostini.

• On the side of meals, to use for scooping and dunking! Soups and stews are ideal. Specifically, crostini was used in the following recipes I’ve recently shared:

  • Italian Crusted Sardines

  • Acqua Pazza – Italian Fish in “Crazy Water”

No video today, because it’s a quick and easy recipe. 🙂

Enjoy! – Nagi x

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Crostini – toasted bread for toppings and dunking

Author: Nagi

Prep: 5 minutesmins

Cook: 10 minutesmins

Appetizer

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5 from 1 vote

Servings2

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“Crostini” means “little crusts” (ie. “little toasts”) in Italian and that’s exactly what they are: Thin, small slices of bread, brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with salt, toasted until crisp and then piled with toppings or used for for dunking.Rubbing with garlic is optional – but it really does add that special touch!See in post for ideas for toppings and other dishes ideal for serving with crostini.

Ingredients

• ▢ 1crusty baguette, thin
• ▢ salt
• ▢ 1 – 3tbspextra virgin olive oil(depends how many crostini you’re making)

Optional garlic flavour (recommended!)

• ▢ 1garlic clove, halved (for rubbing, optional)

Instructions

Slice bread:

• Small crostini (for canapes) – slice bread 0.5cm / 1/4-inch thick on the diagonal.
• Large crostini (for serving on the side of dishes) – Cut on a diagonal, 1cm / 1/3″ thick.

Bake:

• Preheat oven (all types):– Small crostini to 160°C/325°F– Large crostini to 180°C/350°F
• Brush olive oil lightly on bread, sprinkle with a bit of salt. Flip and repeat. Bake 10 minutes, turning halfway, or until fully crispy.
• Rub bread lightly on one side with cut face of garlic. Use warm if serving with a dish, or cool if piling on toppings.

Recipe Notes:

1. Bread type – Best to use a bread that’s got a bit of structure and heft to it: ciabatta, pane di casa / pain de campagne, stone-baked loaf or a sourdough. If you use the soft white baguettes, the crostini will soak through immediately once sauced and just become soggy. You want it to stay crispy even once sauced so you can pile it up with the fish and vegetables – it’s the best eating experience!Crostini size – depends on the use. Cut them small if you want bite size canapés (see here for toppings), or on an extreme diagonal if you want long pieces (for example, if using to scoop things up when serving with a main dish like Acqua Pazza Italian Poached Fish).2. Storage – Baked, cooled crostini can be stored in an airtight container for 5 days, sometimes even longer.3. Nutrition per serving, assuming 2 slices of crostini. Shave off 62 cal per serving by reducing cooking olive oil from 2 tbsp down to 1 tbsp. 

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 599cal (30%)Carbohydrates: 36g (12%)Protein: 43g (86%)Fat: 26g (40%)Saturated Fat: 4g (25%)Trans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 90mg (30%)Sodium: 1233mg (54%)Potassium: 1443mg (41%)Fiber: 5g (21%)Sugar: 7g (8%)Vitamin A: 924IU (18%)Vitamin C: 49mg (59%)Calcium: 199mg (20%)Iron: 5mg (28%)

Keywords: Crostini

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Life of Dozer

No crostini for Dozer, garlic is bad for dogs! And no cake for you, either.