It’s something you probably make every single morning, but according to star chef Delia Smith, toast is much tastier if you don’t make it with sliced bread – and you don’t even use a toaster.
It sounds extremely counterintuitive, but the celebrity chef says you will get much better toast if you ditch the ‘automatic’ toaster and swap it for a grill.
Even better, stop buying sliced bread and cut your own and your toast will be ‘crisp and crunchy’.
Posting her ultimate toast recipe on her website, Delia Smith explains: “A friend of mine invented the term ‘wangy’, a very accurate word to describe what 90% of the world’s catering establishments call toast.
“It’s a good word because we’re all absolutely familiar with what it’s saying – cold, leathery, bendy little triangles that arrive at breakfast when you are asked ‘Would you like some toast?’
“So I’ve been thinking… why not give the world the definitive recipe for perfect toast?
“To begin with, I am not a disciple of automatic toasters. The ones I’ve experienced all seem to be a bit hit and miss, and if you’re rather inept at slicing bread (like me), then they’re not very helpful at all because if the bread is slightly wonky, a) it probably won’t go in the toaster at all, and b) if it does, one bit ends up not being toasted at all while the other bit is giving off nasty black smoke signals!”
Instead, Delia says for the perfect toast, you should buy an uncut loaf, and slice it yourself with a sharp serrated knife. Cut the toast into slices about 1cm thick, then pre-heat the oven grill for 10 minutes at its highest setting.
Then place the bread on the grill rack, about 10cm from the heat, then toast it on both sides to your preferred level of golden brown.
Even better, Delia says, is if you can then transfer the grilled toast to a toast rack.
She adds: “Why a toast rack? Because they are a brilliant invention. Freshly made toast contains steam, and if you place it in a vertical position, in which the air is allowed to circulate, the steam escapes and the toast becomes crisp and crunchy. Putting it straight on to a plate means the steam is trapped underneath, making it damp and soggy.
“If you don’t posses a toast rack, you really ought to invest in a modest one. Failing that, stand your toast up against a jar or something similar for about one minute before serving.”