While there are many ways to make the perfect crunchy piece of toast, the microwave can’t toast a piece of bread. Due to the way that the microwave functions, not only is heat not evenly distributed, but microwave waves of heat will just make the bread rubbery due to the movement of water molecules inside the bread.
Toasting bread in a microwave makes it dryer, but it is not the exact same thing as toast. However, in a pinch, it will work to make the bread crunchy. It should be used as a last resort, as it becomes very rubbery and unappetizing.
How Do I Toast Bread in the Microwave?
If you have to try to make toast in the microwave, there is a pretty simple process to do it the best that the microwave is able to do.
- Get some bread and a paper towel, as the paper towel hopes to soak up moisture in the bread as well as evenly distribute heat.
- Place the bread on top of the towel to soak up any excess moisture, which would contribute to the rubbery texture.
- Heat in intervals depending on how hard you want the bread, 30 seconds at most.
This is the next best thing to toast that you would be able to make in the microwave, although it doesn’t have the same caramelization of the sugars on the outside of the bread that we would generally be used to.
Why Doesn’t a Microwave Actually Toast Your Bread?
Minus a few microwaves that have grills within them, microwaves are just known for heating up the food, rather than cooking it all by itself. Think of the difference between instant rice and raw rice. Raw rice takes over 20 minutes to cook, while instant rice takes 1-2 minutes in the microwave. This is because the rice needs to be heated, rather than cooked in its entirety.
