A toast to toast: It’s a feast for the eyes and the belly

To many, toast is just a breakfast accessory. A little butter, maybe a nut spread and that’s it. But to fans of this food craze, gourmet toast is the greatest thing since, well, sliced bread.

Restaurants from Los Angeles to San Francisco, where the toast trend began, are creating mini-masterpieces out of toast – thick slices of crusty bread adorned with everything from lavendar-flavored ricotta cheese to chipotle eggplant.

And while gourmet toast has already created critics – mostly those who scoff at the price – chefs say toast is a good thing. It’s portable, satisfying and can be a feast for your eyes and your belly.

Raizana Tea Co. recently joined the gourmet toast bandwagon. The popular downtown tea house at 2015 Toulumne St. offers toast in three flavors. Co-owner Sol Orozco, a trained pastry chef, says her motivation was to offer something that was easy to prepare and would go well with her specially blended teas.

Her toast sells for $3.25 and starts with thick pieces of rustic bread from local bakery La Boulangerie. The toast is served three different ways. You can get toast with cream cheese, sprinkled with lavender/orange spices and a drizzle of agave nectar. Nutella lovers can try toast with the hazelnut spread, olive oil and a sprinkling of pink Himalayan salt. Then there is toast with plain butter and flavored with orange, lavender, cinnamon and coconut chai.

“When I chose the flavors for the toast, I wanted something that people would be able to smell before they bite into it,” Orozco said. “I want this to be an experience.”

Few know the satiating experience of toast better than Jill Donenfeld, the New York-based private chef and author of “Better on Toast.”

Donenfeld says the beauty of gourmet toast is that it is relatively simple to create, it can taste really good and it provides maximum creativity for the person assembling it.

“There is also something really primal about that combination of chewy, crispy bread that is warm and soft on the inside,” she says.

Early in her career when she was working as a waitress, Donenfeld used to curb her hunger by making toast on a panini press and coating it with herb butter.

“It was totally heaven,” she says.

Her cookbook has 70 toast recipes that can be used for breakfast, lunch, dinner, appetizer or snack. And she predicts people’s love affair with toast isn’t ending anytime soon.

“This is not like a sandwich where everything is hidden,” Donenfeld says. “You eat with your eyes and toast is something that can be beautifully constructed and overall satisfying.”

At home, you can create endless possibilities with toast, including some very healthy options. Donenfeld says that while any bread will do, she recommends checking out your local bakery.

Linda Brandt, manager of the Ivanhoe-based Family Farm Fresh CSA, says the Valley offers a bounty of fresh options for dressing up your toast. You can spread goat cheese and top it with thinly sliced cantaloupe and a drizzle of honey or agave nectar. Or, try your favorite nut butter, sliced plums and toasted almonds.

With tomatoes in season, you can do heirloom tomato and avocado toast. Brush your bread with olive oil prior to toasting, then add a layer of thin slices of avocado, sliced heirloom tomatoes, chopped fresh basil, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

And if you are trying to eat healthier, use a multigrain bread, dried fruit, berries and nuts, says Melissa Ortiz, a registered dietician at Kaiser Permanente Fresno. Low-fat yogurt, hummus and fresh herbs are also healthy toppings.

“And if you are using an ingredient that is high in fat, just go easy and spread it thinly on your toast,” Ortiz says. “It will still taste really good.”

This story was originally published September 1, 2015 at 7:00 AM with the headline "A toast to toast: It’s a feast for the eyes and the belly."