Perfect Toast Calculator

With this Perfect Toast Calculator, you can discover how to produce the perfect piece of toast, according to research carried out by food scientists from the University of Leeds.

Reference

A three-month research project, commissioned by Lurpak looked at how the properties of melting butter affect the taste of toast and found that people think the perfect piece of toast should have partly melted butter patches on it, which improves its taste and texture.

The research led to the ultimate equation for the perfect toast. But if figuring out the equation seems a little complicated, Leeds University food scientist, Professor Bronek Wedzicha, translated the equation into practical terms for toast lovers everywhere.

“To produce the patches of butter most people said they enjoyed, the bread needs to be heated to at least 120°C, and the butter should be used straight from the fridge (approximately 5°C or 41°F), applied unevenly within two minutes of the bread coming out of the toaster, while the temperature is still between 60 and 70°C.”

“The amount of butter should be about 1/17th the thickness of the bread,” he added.

The 'Perfect' Toast Equation

This calculator applies the following equations:

hᵦ = (Cₚₐ × ρₐ × (T − 35)) / (60 × Cₚᵦ × ρᵦ) × hₐ

wᵦ = (Cₚₐ × (T − 35)) / (60 × Cₚᵦ) × wₐ

Where:

hₐ = Bread Thickness

wₐ = Bread Weight

ρₐ = Bread Density

Cₚₐ = Bread Specific Heat

hᵦ = Butter Thickness

wᵦ = Butter Weight

ρᵦ = Butter Density

Cₚᵦ = Butter Specific Heat

T = Initial Temperature of the Toast