Name: To Make Toast and Wateh
Ingredients: 1 quart of boiling water cut a slice from a stale loaf; a slice of bread 1 quart of boiling water cut a slice from a stale loaf; a piece of hard crust is better than anything else

To Make Toast and Wateh

Ingredients

1 quart of boiling water cut a slice from a stale loaf
a slice of bread 1 quart of boiling water cut a slice from a stale loaf
a piece of hard crust is better than anything else

Directions

Prepare the toast

Cut a slice from a stale loaf (a piece of hard crust is better than anything else for the purpose). Toast it until a nice brown on every side, but do not allow it to burn or blacken.

Steep and strain

Put the toasted slice into a jug; pour the boiling water over it; cover it closely, and let it remain until cold.
When strained it will be ready for use.
Toast-and-water should always be made a short time before it is required, to enable it to get cold: if drunk in a tepid or lukewarm state it is an exceedingly disagreeable beverage.
If, as is sometimes the case, this drink is wanted in a hurry, put the toasted bread into a jug, and only just cover it with the boiling water; when this is cool, cold water may be added in the proportion required – the toast-and-water strained; it will then be ready for use, and is more expeditiously prepared than by the above method.

By Hamilton, Margaret. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Stale bread: Toasting dries and browns the crust, giving the drink its color and toasted aroma.
Boiling water: Extracts flavor from the toasted bread as it steeps, producing the drink's taste.

The step that matters

Let the toast-and-water cool fully before serving. Served tepid or lukewarm, the drink is described as exceedingly disagreeable, so it should be made shortly before needed and left to get cold before straining and drinking.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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To Make Toast and Wateh