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Toast and Water

A simple dish of toasted bread soaked in boiling water.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
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Toast and Water

Ingredients

Directions

Toast the bread

  1. Toast the bread with the crust until deep brown, turning frequently.

  2. Hold the bread at a distance from the fire, then bring it closer.

Infuse and strain

  1. Scald a large jug and place the toast in it.

  2. Pour 3 pints of boiling water over the toast.

  3. Cover lightly and let it stand until cold, then strain.

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.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Bread
Toasting browns the crust, giving the water a deep, toasty flavour and aroma.
Boiling water
Extracts flavour and colour from the toasted bread as it steeps.

The step that matters

Toast the bread until deep brown. Browning develops the toasty flavour and colour that the water will take up. Pale toast gives a weak, flat drink, while turning the bread often helps it brown evenly rather than scorching in patches.

“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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