Break Up With Your Toaster, Pan-Fry Your Bread Instead

I think it’s time to break up with your toaster.

This is easy for me to say: I don’t have one and haven’t for over a decade. Counter space is precious around these parts, and though my adolescence was full of Eggo waffles, I no longer require the services of bulky, single-task appliances such as the four-slice toaster I grew up using. It’s not that I’ve given up toast—in fact, I may be eating more of it than ever before. I’ve simply changed my technique. Now I’m all about pan-frying my bread in oil, creating a delightfully crispy, mildly indulgent base for whatever else I want to eat. One bite and you might find yourself wrapping up your toaster cord for the very last time.

What makes fried bread so (SO) much better than the regular stuff? It’s the perfect storm of rich flavor, next-level crispiness, and adaptability. I’d go so far as to say that toast prepared this way shouldn’t even be called toast, since it’s so wildly different is it from the typical breakfast carb. If you’re on the fence about giving it a shot, allow me to detail fried bread's many assets, in an effort to convince you to kick your toaster to the curb.

It’s easy.

Okay, so the process is a bit more involved than inserting slices into a slot and pressing a button. But for the added flavor and texture bump, it’s only a few extra minutes of effort.

Just heat a few glugs of your choice of oil (more on that shortly) in a pan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add your bread. I like to rub my slice in the oil on one side just to coat, then immediately flip it over to fry thoroughly on the other side before flipping back to finish; this ensures that the second side is already glistening and ready to go, so you won’t need to add any extra oil. Once your toast is crisp and golden brown, transfer it to a plate and immediately season with a bit of salt before loading it up with the toppings of your choice.

It’s flavorful.

Unlike the dry toast you can make in a toaster (or under the broiler in your oven), slices fried in oil are rich and luxurious; that bit of extra fat goes a long way in the flavor department. But you can take your toast in a more specific taste direction by switching up the oil you use. I love coconut and sesame oil for crisping bread, especially when the toppings I’m planning to use go particularly well with those flavors. Coconut oil’s creamy, distinctive notes are delightful under a scoop of dal, while sesame oil adds a nuttiness to a banh mi-inspired slice with plenty of mayo. Try avocado oil, peanut oil, sunflower seed oil, or ghee, which makes a delightful toast that I could eat topped with leftover saag every single day.

If you’ve only got olive oil to work with, consider doctoring the flavor slightly by adding something extra before crisping your bread. Try infusing hot oil with a clove of garlic or sliced shallots before frying for a subtle bite—and incorporate the crisped alliums into your toast toppings. Or add a sprinkling of spices to the oil to both flavor and color your toast; in her cookbook Downtime: Deliciousness at Home, chef Nadine Levy Redzepi makes toast in turmeric-spiked fat, which yields an earthy and deeply yellow piece begging for a hearty spread. Follow her lead with cumin, smoked paprika, sumac, curry powder, or even cinnamon if your toppings are on the sweeter side.

It’s versatile.

Oil-fried toast is a regular toast substitute and then some. Yes, it’s great under a thick swipe of peanut butter, a mound of kimchi cream cheese, or a single runny egg. But because it has a little more structure to it and can stand up better to hefty toppings, you can load fried bread up with all the saucy, drippy, heavy-duty stuff that a toaster slice would be too wimpy to handle.

In my opinion, fried bread belongs in a pasta bowl, with plenty of room for topping overflow. Finish yours with a ladle-full of stew, brothy beans and greens, saucy lentils, baked eggs, even meatballs and sauce—anything that could benefit from the crispy-gone-soggy delight of a once well-fried slice sopping up the drippings.

It’s essentially a big crouton.

Croutons are the best part of a salad—we all agree on this!—and fried bread is just a crouton for giants. When I’m down to fork-and-knife it, I love plating a salad right on top of a piece of oil-fried toast, to cut into individual pieces as I eat and soak up any extra dressing from the bottom of the plate. Or take a page out of the French onion book and serve fried bread alongside your favorite soup, where you can use it to sponge up spoonfuls along the way. Once you start frying bread, you’ll realize there are few meals that wouldn’t be improved by a slice, and you very well might end things with your toaster for good.

Originally Appeared on Epicurious