In our house, unless we use a baguette right away or an Italian loaf in a few days, it tends to get hard, stale, ignored, and ultimately thrown away. Instead, we now use stale bread to make crunchy toasted homemade croutons. You can use a combination of ingredients to add flavor. Salt and pepper is the simplest option, but you can add herbs, garlic (fresh or powdered), or Parmesan cheese to your croutons depending on how you plan to use them. Top your soups or salads with these crunchy morsels.