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Snack · Side

Melba Toast

Toast split into paper-thin slices and baked until crisp and curled. A light partner for soup, pâté or cheese.

⏱ 20 min (5 min prep, 15 min cooking) 🍽 Serves 4 · 4 crisp halves budgetkid friendlyquick vegetariandairy free
📅 Add to my plan

ContainsWheat. Check the labels on what you buy; brands differ.

Ingredients

Make 4 servings
  • 8 slice Sandwich bread, white, thin-sliced sandwich bread

Make it yourself

Make the sandwich bread yourself →

In the planner, Make it on the shopping list swaps the store item for these ingredients and puts the work on your prep day.

Nutrition

Nutrition coming: the USDA numbers for these ingredients are being added.

📜 Where it comes from

Auguste Escoffier (1846–1935), the Savoy (1890–1898) and Carlton (1899–1919) hotels, London.

Melba toast is usually credited to Escoffier at the Savoy around 1897, for Nellie Melba when she was ill and wanted something very light. Accounts differ on the details, and it isn’t in his 1907 Guide, so this page has no original to quote.

What we changed: The method is the classic one, in our own words.

Escoffier did this work in London before Michelin gave out its first stars (1926), so no star ratings apply.

Auguste EscoffierMelba toastMore from the great kitchens →

Steps

You’ll need: toaster, serrated knife, baking sheet.

  1. Heat the oven to 325°F. Toast the bread lightly in the toaster.
  2. While it’s warm, cut off the crusts. Lay a slice flat and, holding it with your palm, slice it in half through the middle with a serrated knife to make two thin slices.
  3. Lay the slices on the baking sheet, untoasted side up. Bake 8 to 12 minutes, until dry, golden and curling at the edges. Watch the last few minutes; they brown fast.
  4. Cool completely; they crisp as they cool.
Make aheadMake up to a week ahead and keep airtight.
↺ LeftoversStore airtight at room temperature up to 1 week.
🧒 With kidsWith a grown-up holding the bread, older kids can practice the careful split.
Gluten-free swapUse gluten-free sandwich bread; it splits more easily when cold.

Our own adaptation of a public-domain recipe, in our own words. Nutrition is estimated from USDA FoodData Central and changes with brands and portions.