I Tried Florence Pugh's "Perfect" Toast Recipe She Eats All The Time, And It's An Experience I'd Never Like To Have Again
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I wake up every single morning with absolute dread. It's hard not to when our society is falling apart. This makes it difficult for me to cook a proper breakfast. So, I was elated when I found Florence Pugh's everyday toast recipe, which she debuted on her Instagram Live earlier in this pandemic. It's quick and easy, which is perfect for me, a barely functioning 31-year-old!
The recipe is pretty straightforward — it's toast — and only demands a toaster and three ingredients: Bread, butter, and Marmite. If that last ingredient gives you pause, know that I felt the same way. But Florence Pugh is a person of culture. So therefore, people of culture must like Marmite. And I was determined to prove that I was one of these people!
Check out the full 4-minute video of Florence debuting her toast recipe below. It's some of Florence's best work, and it's packed with her charming wit:
If you're not familiar with Marmite, it's a yeast extract that is a British staple. It's a really dark brown and spreads like molasses. If you know the Australian-favorite Vegemite, they're pretty similar. Both of these condiments are on the saltier and savory side, though Vegemite is a bit more bitter.
Marmite, like Vegemite, is a divisive condiment. It's labeled as a yeast extract spread fortified with B vitamins. I've heard you either really like it, or you really hate it. I figured I could handle it. I'm literally Filipino, and we casually eat things like balut. What could this yeast extract possibly have on me?
First, I "sliced" my bread. I opted for sourdough toast, since that's what Florence used in her cooking video. Her bread was an actual loaf that looked expensively rustic, but I honestly don't have time for that and went with some pre-cut sourdough. I did cut each piece in half though!
Next, I plopped my sourdough slices in the toaster and "ever so delicately" pushed the sliding mechanism firmly down. The goal is to get your bread to a nice brown, so I recommend setting your toaster to a higher level than usual if you're usually a 'lightly toasted' kind of gal. Or toast your bread twice, like I did.
Here's the fun part: Like Florence, I helped myself to a glass of her take on a mimosa — an "inch of orange juice" topped off with champagne — while waiting for my toast to brown. She calls the drink a "Buck's Fizz." I'm going to call it the "Florence Fizz," because I do what I want.
Here are my co-workers Derek and Janna toasting their Florence Fizzes I made them, totally unaware of the turmoil-toast we're about to subject ourselves (and others in the BuzzFeed office) to.
Don't enjoy your Florence Fizzes too hard — you're making toast, remember?! As you can see, I managed to get my toa—sorry, browned bread, at a comparable level to Ms. Pugh's.
Now that your sliced bread is brown and ready (like me), you'll want to slather it with a generous amount of butter. Florence likes her toast dripping with butter. And as Florence says in her video, "There's no point in having a good piece of toast unless you've got good butter with it." That's why I used a lightly salted European Style butter — it sounded so fancy.
Yum! Look at that perfectly buttered toast. Maybe if this writer thing doesn't work out, I can become a chef...right? Right?!
And finally, it's time to put a "smidge" of Marmite on the toast. Florence spread a small amount in a spider-web pattern to spread it evenly over the bread, including the sides. I tried my best, and at least got the Marmite on there.
And that's literally it! You're done.
Here's a side-by-side comparison of our final products:
Now it was time to try Florence's "browned bread" toast recipe. I was excited! I really look up to her as an actor, so it was sweet to get a (literal) taste of her morning routine.
Unfortunately, Florence's go-to toast was just...not for me. The Marmite sucker-punched my taste buds with saltiness. I'm sure y'all have had soy sauce at some point in your life. Have you ever had it on toast? Do you even want that? Neither did I.
Pernell Quilon
I'll give it to Florence that the toast and butter was at its optimal level, but y'all, I'm convinced that Marmite is a gag condiment that the entire British population have collectively decided to pretend to love the taste of, so they can laugh when Americans try it and (rightfully) grimace. You know, the same way that every Australian swears that drop bears are real.
Or maybe my taste buds are just too American and underdeveloped...no, that can't be it!