For some the day starts by grabbing a couple of slices of toast before dashing off to go about the day’s business. Little if any thought is given to the humble slice of toast. But if you did you’d realise what a vast and interesting subject it is.
Naturally the base ingredient is bread. For this we have to go back 6,000 years to ancient Egypt. They discovered that by grinding grain and adding a leavening agent such as sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) or yeast that the bread would rise and stay that shape when baked. The problem was that this new foodstuff, bread, tended to dry and become unpalatable in a relatively short space of time. The Romans who travelled widely found that by toasting the bread it would preserve it and it was for this reason originally that bread was toasted. This idea was further spread by colonists to North America. But as a by-product of this preserving process a chemical reaction takes place during toasting called the Maillard reaction (discovered by Louis Camille Maillard). Here as with roasting a reaction between sugars and proteins creates changes in colour and flavour.
So that’s history of it but there is so much more. One of the conveniences of it is the simple and quick means of making it. Originally baked on hot stones or over an open fire using a toasting fork, the means of creating toast has evolved over the years. General Electric patented an electrical toaster in 1909 called the GE Model D-12 “Wire Fence” Toaster. This as its name suggests was basically a set of vertical electric elements with a rack to rest the bread on at either side. The modern pop up toaster is the invention of Charles P. Strite of Minneapolis, Minnesota who patented his idea on October 18, 1921. For the commercial market ovens and conveyor types were invented. Mechanical slicing of bread however did not appear until 1928 and was marketed as Wonder Bread from 1930.
Now we come to the best part, what to put on our toast. Here it’s all a matter of personal preference. Types of topping vary immensely from straightforward butter or margarine to complex and occasionally quite expensive arrangements. For a selection of 326 toast topping recipes have a look at http://www.mrbreakfast.com/article.asp?articleid=20 for ideas.
Finally toast has become a collector’s item. People will collect toast with unusual “pictures” burned into the bread. These may be religious in nature or of a famous celebrity. Toast racks and toast plates are also collectables. Toasters themselves have an historical interest and much information is available on line (click here)
So shouldn’t your dolls house have it’s own toaster or other toast related items which are all available from our web shop
And if reading this has made you a little hungry – why not cook yourself a slice of toast!?