5 easy tips for the ultimate toast

Can be a breakfast, can be a lunch, and with the right attributes, it can also be in the evening as far as I'm concerned. A properly made toastie is life, but the way it's made can have a huge impact on the result and you want anything but a disappointing toastie.  That's why five simple tips from our neighbors at online food magazine FavorFlav to get the ultimate toastie, from the type of cheese to the right pan.

Choose the right cheese

Not every cheese is suitable for a toastie. Don't just top it with your favorite cheese, but always consider its pH value. Nerdy fact: the lower the pH value, the easier the cheese melts. And that's exactly what we want. Perfect toastie cheeses are Gruyère and Manchego, both with a strong, nutty flavor. Gouda cheese also has a good pH value. And cheddar? That works too. Is your favorite cheese not listed? Don't worry: if you combine it with one of the above types, it's also okay.

Go for thin slices of (old) bread

Whole grain bread, corn bread, white bread: it doesn't matter much which bread you use. Much more important is that you don't build a toastie with thick slices, because then the cheese can't melt properly. Also not handy: using bread with a lot of holes. Do you have some old sandwiches lying around? Use those: old bread becomes crispier faster when baked. Win-win.

Spread with mayonnaise

We already knew that a layer of butter on top of your sandwich makes your toastie crispier, but spreading both sides of the bread with mayo turns out to be even better. Also because the mayonnaise gives your toastie a nice golden brown color and creates a protective layer during baking.

Top with Parmesan

Best tip ever: sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top of the mayo. The cheese sticks well to the mayonnaise and during baking, a hard cheese crust forms on both sides of your sandwich.

Bake in the pan

We prefer the pan toastie anyway over a toastie from the iron. Why? The bread becomes nice and crispy and a bit buttery, and in the pan, the cheese melts perfectly because you have better control over the temperature. Bake on medium heat without butter, because there's already enough on the sandwich. Although: ‘The crunchiness of your sandwich is unmatched when you bake in ghee,’ says FavorFlavs Renée. Also an option, then.