Michael Symon's Tips For Grilling Bread Indoors
When you want bread toasty and delicious, you most likely pop it in the toaster. According to Hagley Museum and Library, before the advent of the toaster, bread was made golden and crispy by holding it from a fork over an open fire. The first electric toaster wasn't born until 1906, and like many modern conveniences, it evolved. In fact, it took until 1921 for someone to come along and invent the type of pop-up toaster we know and love. But it is a small appliance we definitely embrace.
Whether it's some homemade sourdough, country white bread, pumpernickel, or rye, toast is a beautiful thing. And when it comes to how Americans prefer their toast, YouGov America reports 58% of the toast-eating population like it "somewhat lightly toasted," or just a touch of golden brown splattered across the toast, while 28% want their toast to be "a little bit darker." However, the toaster is not the only way to achieve that favorite toasty crunch. In fact, celebrity chef Michael Symon shares you don't need a toaster at all to achieve that warm, crispy texture that leads to endless possibilities. Symons told his followers on Instagram you can grill bread indoors, and he even provided some handy tips to achieve a toasty nirvana.
Pointer fingers come in handy
In a video he posted on his Instagram, Michael Symon demonstrated how to grill bread in a frying pan to create some delightful results. The host of Food Network's "BBQ USA" shared the first thing you want to start with is thick slices. Cutting up a round of sourdough, Symon explained you want your bread to be the same thickness as your pointer finger. Once it's sliced, Symon shared you want to "hit it with some olive oil on both sides." Then instead of heading outside to the outdoor grill, Symon says you can use a grill pan, a frying pan, or even a cast iron pan to get your bread nice and toasty.
What does grilling in a pan do that a toaster can't? GQ shared that "thick slabs of bread" that have been lightly smeared with olive oil and fried or grilled in a pan make the "insides" of the bread "soft" and the outsides become "golden and crunchy." Grilling it in a pan on the stove also gives you a lot of control over just how crunchy and how golden you allow the bread to become. This method of grilling bread produces a toast that can be eaten with just a shake of salt or something more decadent like a spreadable cheese, butter, mashed avocado, or whatever your tastebuds desire.