Toast, anyone?

[miradoblackwarrior]

Hi, all--
Now maybe this seems silly, but I would really love some toast! Actually, I'm not kidding. I've bought two electric toasters recently, and neither one of them did so much as singe the bread a deep shade of pale. I am fed up! There used to be a time you could count on a toaster to toast both sides of the bread at the same time. Now, the product names I used to trust, the product names that I grew up with, are making junk! The wires that heat up to toast were only on the outer portion of the toaster--none on the inside. Those wires barely glowed. I just want a piece of toast! Jeepers!

So, I've been thinking...could I make toast on my (gas) cooktop? I've seen camping toasters, but the ones I've seen were made cheaply, of tin, and they looked like a cross word would melt them away. Does anyone out there use their oven to toast? Or their stove top? Recommendations? I'm hungry!

Susan

[bae]

I make toast under the broiler pretty often, if I need to produce a fair amount of toast at roughly the same time. I just throw the bread onto a baking pan, and slide it under, watching it carefully when it starts to show color, because it goes from "not quite toast yet" to "carbonized relic" very quickly once the process begins. You have to flip it yourself to do the other side, with this method.

My good toaster died a few years back, and all the attempts to replace it so far with consumer-grade products have resulted in the same disappointment you express.

[Tussiemussies]

We bought a Rowenta toaster a few years back and love it, you can even warm pastries on the top part of it. The toast always comes out perfect...:)

[puglogic]

I toast in a toaster oven, works great! Also great for heating up small things you don't want to fire up the oven for.

I love toast. A good slice of homemade multigrain bread, toasted to perfection and slathered with good fresh butter and local honey.......there are few things on earth I enjoy that much.

[razz]

We use a toaster oven now as well but we also experienced the challenges of finding a replacement toaster.

[SteveinMN]

I like my Krups toaster from several years ago. But they don't make 'em anymore. :(

[peggy]

I feel your pain! You can do really decent toast in the oven on the broiler setting. And a favorite of mine, cinnamon toast, is divine in the broiler. As bae said, you need to watch it, no putting it in and going off, and you need to flip it, but you can do a whole lot of toast at a time. Great for a breakfast gathering.

[Tweety]

I toast in a toaster oven, and do most of my personal baking (as opposed to a big recipe for a potluck or such) in it too. As a matter of fact, it is roasting 2 dishes full of assorted garden veggies at this moment. Dinner will be ready in about 15 minutes!

[bae]

For a single piece of toast, it's pretty quick to use a blowtorch too. Not one of those little weenie kitchen models they want you to use for crème brûlée, but a full-sized Bernzomatic propane torch, like you might have on-hand if you were serious about your sous vide cooking.

Start out working on a metal baking sheet though until you get the hang of it, the margin for error is slight.

[redfox]

My DH had a colleague, years ago, who wanted to buy a big ol' 1950's panel van, paint it silver, cut two slots in the top, and drive around bringing toast to the untoasted. He'd have a loudspeak on top, announcing his presence.This was his way of expressing his deep passion for toast. It was hilarious. Toast rocks.

[daisy]

For a single piece of toast, it's pretty quick to use a blowtorch too. Not one of those little weenie kitchen models they want you to use for crème brûlée, but a full-sized Bernzomatic propane torch, like you might have on-hand if you were serious about your sous vide cooking.


Hey, that is what I use for my crème brûlée! :)

As for toast, I have never cared for "dry toast". I always make mine by slathering it with butter and grilling, either in a cast iron pan or on the griddle of my stove.

[lhamo]

We inherited a nice Dualit toaster from the previous owners of our apartment -- yikes, never realized how expensive it was!

http://www.toasters.com/bread-toasters/dualit/dualit40415classic4slicechrometoaster.cfm

It makes great toast and looks nice on the counter, too. They also have them in funky colors.

lhamo

[rosarugosa]

My epic failures in the kitchen are the stuff of family lore, so I could just imagine if I were to try Bae's blow-torch toasting method!
We have a Kitchenaid toaster that has served us well for a few years now. Nothing particularly amazing about it, but it's holding up pretty well for a modern small appliance.

[Blackdog Lin]

I am also a toast freak (with the buttered thighs to show for it), and I guess I've just led a charmed life. I think we're on our third electric toaster, in our 36-year married life, and they all have just worked. I didn't realize that people had a problem with toasters.

Toaster #1: wedding gift 1976, lasted into our 3rd residence (10 years?). Toaster #2: a cheapest-one-they-had-at-WalMart replacement, lasted well into our current home (9 years?). Toaster #3: a cheapest-one-they-had-at-WalMart replacement (current, just got up and looked: a cheapo Procter Silex) and it still toasts nicely, though I agree that the ultimate toast is done in a skillet. I'm usually just too lazy to dirty a skillet for "ultimate" toast - I just plug in the toaster.