How do you make your toast in the morning? Most of us will pop a couple of slices of bread into the toaster, turn it to the preferred setting and let the appliance do it’s thing.
Then there’s the grill method. Some people will make it on a grill pan but that comes with the risk of burning if you walk away and forget about it.
However, there is another, relatively unknown, way to make toast which doesn’t require a toaster and it’s this method that chef Jamie Oliver uses.
The cookbook author admitted he makes his toast in a frying pan. But this is not fried bread, it’s just toast. The restauranteur said he adds nothing to the pan apart from his slices of bread – there is no butter or oil required to make the perfect ‘super crispy’ toast.
The pan has to be non-stick and the length of time you toast it depends on your personal toast scale. Less time for lightly toasted and longer for well-toasted slab. His method will take around three minutes, give or take so it’s as quick as using a toaster.
It has the added benefit of creating less mess too and saves regularly cleaning crumbs from the toaster.
Jamie particularly likes the frying pan toast method for sourdough bread. He told the Guardian: “Sourdough, which is spongy, toasts up a treat. It stays fresh for a week and then you can grill it for bruschetta or dry it out for what the Italians call pangritata to liven up stews, soups and salads.
“We waste about 40% of bread in Britain but once you’ve tasted pangritata you’ll never throw bread away again.”
Jamie’s guide to making toast in a frying pan:
1. Put a slice in a hot, dry non-stick pan and cook for a minute and a half on each side or until golden and crisp. I do it by smell – the equivalent of roasting coffee beans.
2. After I’ve toasted one side, I like to turn it over and put something heavy on the bread – try a bottle of HP sauce – to squash it flat. It ensures the entire surface area is toasted for maximum crunch.
3. Get the butter or marg on straight away. I am a butter person and really good butter is always a pleasure. Make sure it is at room temperature – it’s a pain if your toast goes cold while you’re trying to spread it. Then your toast awaits your next embellishment: a nice bit of jam or Marmite.
4. How I cut toast depends on my mood. I like soldiers if I am nostalgic or have an egg to dip into. Cutting toast into rectangles is belt and braces when I am in a rush. But if I want to be more upmarket, I’ll cut it into triangles. I don’t cut off the crusts because a) it’s a waste and b) most of the nutrients of any bread are in the crust. Plus, I like the contrast of the soft and the crunchy bits, but, if you want to be wussy, you can cut ’em off.