A Toast To Grandma!

When I was a kid my mom would cook breakfast for us before we went to school.  I didn't learn until I was about 8 or 10 that there are several different types of breakfast toast, and not all are made equal.  

The first type I learned about is the type that is made in a toaster oven.  We always had one growing up.  The little box that sits on the counter and is like a mini oven.  She would butter the bread and put it in and push the button that says toast.  The element comes on and melts the butter and you have toast.  The edges get crispy and the top soggy.  I don't know how many I ate before I learned of the second kind.

While spending the night with a friend I learned of the second type of toast.  This is where you toast the bread first and then butter it.  I remember wondering why we couldn't butter the bread first.  So what if the butter runs down and pools in the bottom of the toaster.  This is the kind of toaster that "pops" up when the bread is done.  This type also makes tons of crumbs.  Loads of crumbs.  If you cook with bread crumbs this is the way for you to make your toast.

I don't know why it took so long for me to learn of the third way to make toast.  Perhaps I knew of it from the time I was born but didn't realize it until I was 8 or 10.  My grandmother made the best toast that I can ever recall eating.  She would butter the bread, put it on a cookie sheet, and put it in the oven.  The secret to this is that she would put the oven on broil.  This would turn on the top element, making a crust like top that is out of this world.  This can also be accomplished in a toaster oven, I learned, if it has a broil function.  

To this day I sometimes get a hankering for toast and use this method to satisfy my craving.  I will be honest and admit that I do have the pop up kind of toaster.  Sometimes I fell guilty using this method.  Like it offends my grandmother.  But, the over method is a bit more lengthy, and with six kids chomping at the bit a breakfast time...  Lets just say that for safety's sake I try and calm the crowd quickly. 

I confess that when I do eat  grandma's toast I go overboard.  I can eat a whole loaf when I get going.  Normally I use honey to top my toast.  But I have an adventurous side (just ask my wife), and have toped my toast with sugar or cinnamon, or on crazy days, both.  

One word of caution.  The difference between great toast and black top is very little.  You MUST watch the toast carefully, making sure to take it out when it reaches that golden brown.  A few seconds more and you may find yourself scraping the black stuff.

Lastly, I purposefully did not include french (little f on purpose) toast for a couple of reasons.  First it is french.  I have a problem with them at this time is history.  If they would just call it something different I might could overlook the fact that the french came up with it.  Second I don't really consider it toast.  It flys in the face of all that I know to be toast.  I'm not even sure if it has butter on it.

Give it a try.  Let me know how you like this toast.  

El Toro Negro