Freshly cooked toast slathered with butter is simple but divine. The combination of satisfying crunch and just-melted butter is greater than the sum of its parts – but oftentimes, toast served in restaurants somehow tastes even better.
Bread and butter, what could be easier than that? But many of us don’t even realise we’re unthinkingly following a tried-and-true formula when making toast that professional chefs don’t, and one expert has shared a way to make the best toast you’ve ever had. Toast is thoroughly more delicious – think crispier on the outside and fluffier within – by simply swapping the order you cook things.
For the “best toast of your life”, you’ll have to ditch the toaster.
The trick is to butter the bread first, as explained by Kelly Jacques, co-owner of Ayu Bakery in New Orleans.
This way, as the former Operations Manager of Breads Bakery explained to Epcurious, “the butter melts all the way through, soaking into the toast”.
Plus, the bread becomes crispier this way than it ever would have if you’d just popped it in the toaster.
Kelly said the “frying action” means the toast comes out delectably “crispy on the outside, and soft and fluffy on the inside”.
The traditional way of buttering after toasting means the butter softens the toast’s crisp exterior as it melts.
How to make the best toast you’ve ever had
There are a few things to bear in mind when making your toast this way.
As anyone who has tried to spread cold butter on bread knows, soft butter works best. It’s much easier to slather your bread if the butter is room temperature and spreadable.
Secondly, don’t be afraid of butter. The butter is intended to soak through the whole slice, so don’t skimp.
It also needs to be said that buttering first means you shouldn’t cook the bread in a toaster. The melting butter becomes a fire hazard, so pop your bread under the grill or in an air fryer if you have one.
