How To Toast Bread Without a Toaster: 4 Easy and Versatile Methods

Last Updated on January 10, 2023

While many people own a toaster, yours may have just broken, you don’t have enough space in your kitchen, you are not in your own kitchen, or maybe you just find owning a toaster is unnecessary based on your bread consumption.

Regardless of your reason for lack of this appliance, if you find you want to make toast, there are several methods you can employ that will easily get the job done. This article will teach you how to toast bread without a toaster using four easy methods.

4 Ways to Toast Bread Without Using a Toaster

Without the need for toasters, the following four options will help you make a toast at home in your kitchen. You’ll even be able to make toast outdoors using a fire pit or campfire.

Read through them all to decide which method you think would best work for you.

Method 1: Use the Broiler for Quick Toast with Lots of Crunch

Using the broiler function in your oven is the quickest way to toast bread without using a toaster.

• To start, set your oven controls to broil using the lower setting if you have the option.
• Place the slice of bread you wish to toast on a baking sheet or use a piece of aluminium foil if that is more accessible. You can also place them directly on the oven rack
• Place the baking sheet or slice of bread on the top grill rack, closest to the broiler heating element on the roof of your oven.
• Carefully monitor the bread while it toasts to prevent burning.
• After approximately two minutes, depending on the level of browning achieved and how toasted you like your bread, flip your bread over to the other side.
• After the same amount of time as before, the other side will be toasted, and your toast will be ready to enjoy.
• Remove your toast from inside the oven and turn off the broiler.

Method 2: On the Oven for Slower Toast

Making toast in the oven is a great way to toast bread even without a toaster. It is especially true when you don’t have the luxury of carefully watching over it. This kind of method is good if you are multi-tasking while making breakfast or any other meal.

• First, set your oven to 180 degrees Celsius (or 350 degrees Fahrenheit) and wait for it to preheat.
• After the oven is fully preheated, place your slice of bread either on a baking pan, piece of aluminium foil, or directly on the centre baking rack to toast the bread.
• In about 3 to 5 minutes, depending on how well done you like your bread toasted, flip the bread over to the other side.
• Wait for another 3 to 5 minutes, and your toast will be ready.
• Remove the toasted bread from the oven, making sure to turn it off as well.

Method 3: A Stovetop Toast Using a Pan

This method is also fast because you don’t have to wait for the oven to preheat to toast bread. Use either butter or olive oil on the pan during the toasting process on the stovetop. However, it is not necessary and can be done without if you prefer.

• Select a pan that will easily hold a slice of bread or slices of bread. You can use a cast-iron skillet, copper pan, or stainless steel pan as they conduct a lot of heat and will toast bread faster.
• Place the pan on the cooktop and set the burner to medium-high heat.
• Add a bit of oil or butter to the bottom of the pan (if preferred).
• Once the butter starts to melt, and the pan is evenly heated, place your slice or slices of bread into the pan and let it cook for 2 to 4 minutes. The amount of time will depend on how well done you prefer your toast to be.
• Flip the bread over and allow to cook for an even amount of time on the opposite side.
• You may also want to add a bit of extra butter or oil to the pan when you flip the bread to the other side, but it should not be necessary. On the other hand, it may make your toast taste better. Butter will also help it crisp up evenly while the bread cooks.
• Once your bread is toasted, turn off the cooktop burner, remove your toast from the pan, and it is ready to enjoy.

Method 4: Campfire or Fire Pit Toast

You can also toast bread without help from your hob. Use direct fire, just like how people toasted before the invention of the toaster. This method is great for cooking multiple slices of bread on a camping trip and will toast the bread, similar to how a BBQ grill cooks food.

• Start by lighting a fire.
• Once this is done, place a wire rack over the fire pit.
• Set a cast-iron pan or skillet on top of the wire rack to prevent your bread from catching on fire with the larger flames.
• Add butter or a small amount of oil to the saucepan and allow it to heat up.
• If your fire is reduced down to coals, you may be able to put the bread directly on the rack instead of using an additional pan, which some people prefer because it can be faster.
• Place one or more pieces of bread in the bottom of the saucepan without overlapping any of the slices.
• Carefully monitor the bread as a fire is nowhere near as predictable as your cooktop or oven.
• Depending on the fire’s strength and size, you may need to flip the slices of bread in as little as 30 seconds.
• Repeat on the other side and enjoy.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sarah (@gathered_garden)

Can You Toast Bread in the Microwave?

While you can most certainly heat bread in a toaster, you can not toast bread in a microwave. When making toast, a type of radiant heat is required to pull moisture out of the bread and dry it out. It creates the crisp or crunchiness needed for it to be considered toast.

Instead of radiant heat, microwaves use ‘microwaves’ to cook food. It will move around and vibrate the molecules of water inside slices of bread but will not cause them to evaporate or be extracted. Therefore, microwaves can not be used for making toast.

Ways You Can Enjoy Toasts

Toasted bread is popular around the world. It can be eaten for either breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Let’s look at the different foods that go well with toast.

• soft boiled eggs
• peanut butter
• jam
• beans
• cheese
• some marmite
• sea salt
• toast on toast

Get Your White Bread Toasting

Now, whenever you want to make a sandwich, bread toasting will always be possible.

Which do you envision yourself executing most easily and effectively? Whichever toasting method you decide to do, just remember to make sure to check for the bread’s readiness periodically to prevent burning. After experimenting with a particular method a few times, you should get a good feel of how much time is needed to brown bread to your liking, eliminating the need for continuous monitoring.

On the other hand, if you like eating toasts as much as we do, we recommend purchasing a toaster if you have enough space. They are fairly inexpensive, work at rapid speeds, and are wildly accurate when it comes to assessing the level of browning that occurs based on your customizable preference.