Toast: The Cookbook

The ultimate canvas for sweet and savoury culinary creativity. 50 seasonal recipes that reimagine the "bread and butter" of cuisine with simple ingredients in surprising ways

Easy enough for breakfast, yet suitable for brunch, lunch, dinner and even dessert, the possibilities of heaping beautiful seasonal ingredients on bread are limitless. Organized by season, Toast features 50 recipes from savoury to sweet that unleash the power of fresh ingredients and simple techniques guaranteed to impress and satisfy any kitchen audience on any occasion. Award-winning food writer Raquel Pelzel's relatable and accessible recipes span generations and cultures and shatter expectations of what this humble favourite can be.

Broiled or char-grilled, pan-fried or deep-fried, a good slice of bread is the ultimate platform to showcase your culinary skills. Toast will teach you to simply and effectively wow friends and family with creative, delicious combinations of ingredients from summer tomato salad, or pickled shrimp and avocado, to roasted squash and molten cheese, poached egg and fried pancetta.

So much more than just bread and butter, toast is experiencing a global renaissance. Professional chefs are seizing on the creative potential of a beautiful canvas of bread and delivering sophisticated culinary masterpieces that showcase their own brilliant palettes. Toast invites home cooks to join the ranks of renowned chefs in their experiments and even brings some of their recipes to life with contributions by 8 celebrity chefs including Hugh Acheson, Deb Perelman (The Smitten Kitchen), Fergus Henderson (St. John) and more.

As simple or as sophisticated as you want it to be, yet always comforting and nourishing, Toast is perfect for those looking for seasonal, market-inspired recipes, or gourmet treats presented in an approachable manner.

With something for every palate and occasion, this is the ideal book for new and seasoned cooks alike as well as everyone from college students and recent graduates to newlyweds and empty nesters.

Artisanal toast is a hit in the media with features on Today, GMA, and NPR, and on the pages of The New Yorker, San Francisco Chronicle, Guardian, and Bon Appétit.

About the Author

Raquel Pelzel is an award-winning food writer and cookbook collaborator. She has written recipes for Saveur, Wall Street Journal, Every Day with Rachael Ray, and Edible Manhattan, and is a cookbook columnist for Epicurious. She was an editor at Cook's Illustrated and senior food editor and test kitchen director for Tasting Table. Toast is Raquel’s first solo cookbook. She lives in Brooklyn.