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Buttered Toast
Toast which is to be buttered should be cut from a loaf one or two days old, in slices about the third of an inch thick. Cut off the crust, and toast the bread before a clear, bright fire. When it is equally and lightly colored on one side turn it to do the other. Place little pieces of butter here and there upon it, put it before the fire for a minute or two till the butter is soft, then spread it upon the toast, taking care not to press heavily upon the bread, or the toast will be heavy. Cut each slice separately into strips an inch and a half broad, and pile these on a hot dish. If one or two slices are cut through together, the butter will sink from the upper piece to the lower. Some cooks hold the toasted bread over a bowl of boiling water for a minute before buttering it. This is to soften it, that it may take the butter more readily. Buttered toast should be prepared at the last moment, and served very hot.
Dry toast is made as the above with the exception of buttering and steaming.
An open-hearth technique that translates well to a broiler or a gas flame; the instructions about butter and stacking are the part worth keeping.
- The hinge: butter warm, press lightlySoftening the butter on the warm toast before spreading, rather than dragging cold butter across it, is what keeps the crumb open. Pressing down compacts the slice and gives the "heavy" toast the recipe warns against.
- Toasting without a fireA broiler set high, rack about 4 inches from the element, gives the same one-side-at-a-time colouring in roughly 1-2 minutes per side. Watch it rather than timing it; the direct radiant heat browns fast and unevenly at the edges.
- Slice thicknessA third of an inch is thinner than most commercial sliced bread, which runs about half an inch. Cut your own from an unsliced loaf if you want the result described, since a thicker slice will not dry through in the same time.
- Two-day-old breadSlightly stale bread has lost surface moisture and browns more evenly without going limp under the butter. Modern soft sandwich loaves have enough added fat and moisture to steam rather than toast at low heat, which is another reason for high, quick heat.
- The bowl of boiling waterHolding the toast briefly over steam relaxes the dried surface so it absorbs butter instead of shedding it. It is optional, and it does soften the crispness; skip it if you want a crisp slice.
- Never stack before cuttingThe instruction to cut slices singly is sound. Cutting two together lets melted butter sink from the upper piece to the lower, leaving the top dry and the bottom greasy.
- Yield and timingThe recipe gives no yield; one to two slices per person as a tea or breakfast accompaniment is a reasonable estimate. Make it in small batches immediately before serving on a warmed dish, as the recipe directs.