The browning is the result of a Maillard reaction altering the flavor of the bread and making it crispier in texture.

Toast may accompany savory dishes such as soups or stews, or it can be topped with ingredients like eggs or baked beans to make a light meal.

[4] One of the first references to toast in print is in a recipe for Oyle Soppys (flavoured onions stewed in a gallon of stale beer and a pint of oil) from 1430.

[5] In his 1602 play The Merry Wives of Windsor, Shakespeare gives Falstaff the line: "Go fetch me a quart of sack; put a toast in't.

[8] Bread sold ready-sliced is commonly used in modern preparations; some of these specifically market their suitability for toasting.

[citation needed] Toasting is a cooking process that depends on the occurrence of the Maillard reaction on the surface of the bread.

[citation needed] A few other condiments that can be enjoyed with toast are chocolate spread, cream cheese, and peanut butter.

Yeast extracts such as Marmite in the UK, New Zealand and South Africa, and Vegemite in Australia are considered national traditions.

Strips of toast (the soldiers) are dipped into the runny yolk of a soft-boiled egg through a hole made in the top of the eggshell, and eaten.

[16][better source needed] In southern Sri Lanka, it is common for toast to be paired with a curry soup and mint tea.

[17] Toast became a staple dish in Japan after World War II, especially after it was introduced in school lunches throughout the country due to the shortage of rice.

[21][22] By 2013, "artisanal toast" had become a significant food trend in upscale American cities like San Francisco, where some commentators decried the increasing number of restaurants and bakeries selling freshly made toast at what was perceived to be an unreasonably high price.

Examples of nutrients that have been shown to change consist of: The nutritive loss of substances such as lysine results in a substantial reduction of the protein efficiency ratio (PER) of the bread.

[27] Toasted bread may contain benzo[a]pyrene and high levels of acrylamide, a carcinogen generated during the browning process.

[29] The British Food Standards Agency recommended that bread should be toasted to the lightest colour acceptable, later modified to "aim for a golden yellow colour or lighter when frying, baking, toasting or roasting starchy foods".

[30] Epidemiological studies available as of 2019[update] suggested that it was unlikely that dietary acrylamide consumption increased the risk of developing cancer.

You're toast, man", which appeared in The St. Petersburg Times of October 1, 1987, is the "...earliest [printed] citation the Oxford English Dictionary research staff has of this usage.