You've Been Making Toast Wrong Your Whole Life

Many of us have a long history with the toaster — it may have been the first appliance we ever used to "cook." It's hard not to be charmed by that cute little act the toaster runs through every morning, dramatically flinging its ingredients ceiling-ward to let you know that it's time to eat. And then, of course, there's the wonderful gift it offers: breakfast.

So, how do we say this nicely? Your toaster is about to become toast. Because if you want to enjoy that sourdough or 7-grain or country baguette with the true gusto with which all bread is meant to be enjoyed, you must stop toasting it. You need to fry it instead.

Many people feel that the path to the perfect toast is via a frying pan (via GQ). While methods and materials vary, using a thick piece of bread and frying it in golden bubbles of oil results in the perfect consistency — crisp and crunchy outsides, and soft and delectable insides.

The discovery of fried bread is an eye-opening moment for those who give it a try — and many people discover its deliciousness by accident (via Bon Appetit). When you're already in the kitchen and preparing other breakfast foods (such as fried eggs) in a frying pan, it's just another natural step to toss in a piece of bread and see what happens.

Frying bread in a pan is so easy you won't find many recipes for this delicacy; it's essentially a slice of bread that's literally pan-fried (via Extra Crispy.) You'll just want to flip it once so it crisps on both sides. You can use olive oil or butter for frying. If you're feeling extra "naughty," let it bubble up in the lard of your breakfast bacon, suggests Christina Cucina. 

The technique works with really any kind of bread. It's a great way to do justice to a gorgeous rustic crust you've been eyeing at the corner bakery, but it's also a way to add glamor to ordinary sandwich bread or a loaf that's about one day away from being tossed in the trash. Choosing white bread makes it the perfect hangover food, according to Lifehacker.  

Pairing your fried bread with other breakfast favorites is fun (and hard to get wrong): choose jam, fresh fruit, eggs, sausage — or, if you've got a sweet tooth, try a few ounces of bittersweet chocolate.

Best of all, unlike a toaster, which can be complicated and potentially hazardous to clean, cleanup is just a rinse in the sink.

But maybe you're emotionally attached to your toaster and want to enjoy fried toast without leaving your favorite kitchen appliance out of the equation. A Reddit user tried just that and claimed the result was even better than anything he could have accomplished with a pan. He put room temperature butter on both sides of the bread. "All of you unlucky sods using pans to make fried bread," he taunted in the thread, "Have a go when you can and tell me it's not the best."

Whether applying butter to toast before toasting it is a fire hazard was one concern his fellow Redditors raised. Indeed, you could burn down the house with this technique (via Epicurious). But, buttering bread on both sides and placing in a toaster oven is a pan-free way to achieve the texture and taste of fried toast, but perhaps this method is best left to Redditors who don't live in your house. 

We know where your mind's going... fried toast is a rising trend, kind of like avocado toast... maybe it will be the next avocado toast... wait, what about fried avocado toast?

Can you handle that much deliciousness? We mean: can you handle it, actually?  Among foodies, the jury is still out; on one hand, the flavor and texture combination is silky and gritty all at once. Avocado, butter, and bread are the food lover's ménage à trois. But on the other hand: oof.

This Soup Addict recipe combines fried bread and avocado toast, plus in an act of extraordinary ambition, throws in eggs, claiming that there's nothing greasy or overly oily about the combo. But perhaps mixing rich avo with bread that's taken a bath in oil is a wee bit... much, notes Food52. 

Maybe. But then again, we are a nation that fries Twinkies (via Food.com). Perhaps fried avocado toast is kind of like carnival food: worth giving a try, but only when you're wearing elastic-waist pants.