Perfect Crostini Recipe - ready in under 10 minutes! (2024)

FAQs

How to keep crostini from getting soggy? ›

A thin drizzle of oil will help your bread get crispy in the oven. Expect to use about 1 teaspoon of oil for every 8 crostini. The ingredient quality matters. If you have a favorite extra-virgin olive oil, this is a good time to use it.

The main difference between these two toasts is that crostini is often thinly sliced, while bruschetta is usually served in thicker slices and drizzled with olive oil before it's toasted. The standard topping is diced tomato mixed with olive oil, garlic and Italian herbs—delicious, but a little boring.

The bread can be toasted a few hours in advance of serving. I would not recommend adding the toppings until 10-15 minutes before serving. This way, the bread won't get soggy from the toppings. If you are planning a party where guests will be arriving at different times, you can always make a crostini bar.

The Best Bread for Crostini

A baguette is ideal for crostini, its small surface area is just the right size for these appetizer toasts. Or use a long Italian loaf. The bread doesn't have to be fresh—you're going to dry it out in the oven—so if you have a day-old baguette use it!

If your crostini seem a bit too hard, put the toppings on a bit in advance. The topping will soften the crostini.

Toast them for just the right amount of time.

Bake at 375°F. for 7 - 8 minutes, turning over halfway through until golden brown. The crostini should be crispy on top but the inside should be tender. If the oven temperature is too low, the bread slices will bake and become too hard.

The French call them tartines, the Americans Toasts and the Italians Bruschetta. The Webster Dictionary defines them as: an open sandwich, one with a rich or elaborate topping. No matter what you call them, we all seem to love them!

Texture is very important–it shouldn't be too dense. The bread needs to be thin enough to bite, but thick enough to support toppings -1/2-inch thick is just right. Brush olive oil on each piece before toasting it.

Crostini: Meaning "little toasts" in Italian, crostini are small, thin slices of toasted bread, which are usually brushed with olive oil. The word also describes canapés consisting of small slices of toast with a savory topping such as cheese, shrimp, pâté or anchovies.

You could even serve them with a homemade compound butter, baked brie, or a fruit and cheese platter like this burrata with peaches and heirloom tomatoes. Store leftover crostini in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

What is the difference between crostini and canape? ›

Canape: A canape is a type of hors d'oeuvre, or small, single-bite food, that is traditionally made with a base of a small piece of bread with some sort of topping. Crostini: The Italian word means little toasts. The thin slices of bread are toasted, drizzles with olive oil, and served warm.

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.

Both are Italian words but you may notice that bruschetta is singular and crostini is plural, that's a clue to the way in which they are traditionally served. Bread should be grilled or broiled to some degree of char to be called bruschetta, and it's always heavenly.

Both are cut from a loaf of bread and toasted. However: Melba toast is toasted dry, saving calories. Crostini are brushed with olive oil, and can be thicker than Melba toast.

Fortunately, there's an easy way to prevent that sogginess and keep your bread just as crisp as it is when it comes out of the toaster. All you'll need to do is take two freshly toasted slices of bread, stand them up on an angle, and balance them against each other so that the two slices resemble the sides of a tent.

Tomato skins and seeds can be bitter, and removing them improves the flavor and texture of your bruschetta topping. Seeds and skin also contain extra water, which can make your bruschetta runny and your toast points soggy.

Packaged bread from the supermarket often benefits from being toasted. To prevent your sandwich from getting soggy, try lightly toasting just one side of the bread in your toaster oven, and let that toasted side serve as the inside of your sandwich.

Spread something on the bases to protect them from a topping if it is on the 'damp' side. A pretty obvious thing anyway - we all spread butter or marg (or cream cheese, or mayo) on our bread to prevent it getting soggy from a damp filling. So the same approach works just as well with canape-toast bases.