Cookbook:Toast

Toast
Category	Bread recipes
Difficulty

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Toast is sliced bread which has been browned, to varying degrees, on each side by exposure to radiated heat. Historically, the bread was placed on a wire toasting fork and held before the red hot charcoal or embers of an open fire, and toasted one side at a time. It can be made by placing the bread slices under a hot grill or broiler, and turning when one side of the bread is browned to taste. Nowadays, in most western countries, toast is usually made in an electric toaster which browns both sides of the bread simultaneously. Most toasters have a timing mechanism to control the degree of browning and "pop up" the bread slices when the toasting is complete. The word toast is of latin origin. Toast often accompanies breakfast foods, particularly eggs and bacon or sausage.

Toast can be eaten with a topping of honey or jam and a classic combination of toppings is butter with cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on top. The recipe uses about ¼ teaspoon of sugar and ⅛ teaspoon of cinnamon for each slice of bread. The butter is well-spread and melted first, so that the cinnamon and sugar will stick to the toast. More recently popular is avocado toast. Avocado toast often includes some combination of spices, and a protein such as egg or bacon.

Ingredients

• 1 or more slices of bread, sized to fit your toaster
• 1 or more toppings (optional):
  • Butter
  • Cinnamon
  • Honey
  • Jam
  • Jelly
  • Lard
  • Margarine
  • Sugar
  • Peanut butter
  • Avocado
  • Scrambled eggs

Procedure

Main page: Cookbook:Toasting

1. Ensure that the toaster is plugged in, generally clean, and functional.
2. Place some bread slices into the toaster. Usually, you must place each slice into a separate slot. Some toasters can hold 2 slices in an extra-wide slot. If you use a toaster oven, you may need to lay the bread slices flat on a metal grill inside the toaster oven.
3. If the toaster has a darkness control, adjust it as desired.
4. Activate the toaster.
5. Watch the bread as it browns. If it starts to get excessively dark, activate the pop up mechanism and carefully remove the toast. If you are unable to make the toast pop out, unplug the toaster. Do not reach into a slotted toaster, whether with your hand or a metal tool, while it is plugged in or very hot.
6. Spread your choice of topping on the toast with a knife, spatula, or spoon.

Notes, tips, and variations

• The bread crust can be cut off after the toast has been cooked. The topping can be added to both sides.
• Replace ordinary bread slices with a bagel or English muffin cut across the axis.
• Butter would be the best topping choice when using raisin bread to make toast.
• Replace each slice of bread with a waffle or scone.