What in bread determines how quickly it toasts?

[Interrobang!?]

Yesterday, I was making some open-face sandwiches for my wife and myself. She wanted hers on Orowheat, a nationwide brand. I made mine on a slice of potato bread from a small(ish) local bakery.

I toasted her bread first. With the toaster dial 2/3 of the way to fully brown, her bread ended up quite brown. I toasted my slice second. At the same setting, with an already warm toaster, my slice had barely started to brown when the timer went off.

So my question: what made her bread toast so much more readily than mine? My slice of bread was slightly thicker, so that may account for some of the difference -- more mass. But I don't really know.

Are there preservatives in Orowheat that help bread brown? Is it just the thickness? Is there something else at work here?

[astro]

In my experience density and moisture content. Lightweight corporate breads like Wonder Bread and it's ilk will toast very easily, while the dense, nutty breads from lesbian socialist cooperatives may require extended times to be properly browned.

[chaoticbear]

Aye. Don't forget sugar content.

[picunurse]

I think the amount of gluten is a factor as well. I know sour dough bread toasts poorly.

[danceswithcats]

Many toasters manage time via a bimetallic element. Unless the element was allowed to fully cool to room temperature after the first cycle, a succeeding cycle would naturally be shorter.

Other than that, it's sugar, lesbians, and gluten.

That reminds me of a movie that I won't discuss here

[antechinus]

Originally Posted by danceswithcats

Many toasters manage time via a bimetallic element. Unless the element was allowed to fully cool to room temperature after the first cycle, a succeeding cycle would naturally be shorter.

Other than that, it's sugar, lesbians, and gluten.

That reminds me of a movie that I won't discuss here

And albido.

[Squink]

The Maillard, or browning, reaction:

Toasting is a chemical change caused by Maillard, or nonenzymatic, browning. During the Maillard reaction, the aldehyde group of a sugar molecule reacts with the amine group of an amino acid or protein molecule, leading to the formation of brown polymers and highly flavored chemicals. In addition to bread, the Maillard reaction is responsible for the color and flavor of many carbohydrate- and protein-rich foods, including onions and grilled and roasted meats.

The same reaction between sugars and amines is involved in the formation of cataracts

[Fromage A Trois]

Originally Posted by Squink

The Maillard, or browning, reaction: The same reaction between sugars and amines is involved in the formation of cataracts

All bread packaging should contain a warning - Toast makes you BLIND!

[InvidiousCourgette]

Originally Posted by bras0978

All bread packaging should contain a warning - Toast makes you BLIND!

The maillard reaction is also responsible for dozens of deaths in America: How does molasses kill people?
Toast KILLS and makes you BLIND.

[Popup]

Originally Posted by picunurse

I think the amount of gluten is a factor as well. I know sour dough bread toasts poorly.

Is the gluten content of sour dough really lower than conventional yest dough? Admittedly sour dough is often made with some rye mixed in (which would lower the gluten content) but that's not necessarily unique to sour dough bread. Or does the lower pH somehow deteriorate the gluten? That would be news to me.

Personally I think that water, sugar content and albedo most important factors, but I haven't made any detailed experiments.

I don't think sexual orientation has any major impact, although there is an interresting histrical parallell. Archestratus remarked in the 4th century BC that the barley bread of Lesbos was or unsurpassed whiteness. Of course this would make it slower toasting, but I'm not sure if it's the same mechanism as in astros bakery.

[Desmostylus]

Originally Posted by Popup

Personally I think that water, sugar content and albedo most important factors, but I haven't made any detailed experiments.

I don't think sexual orientation has any major impact, although there is an interresting histrical parallell. Archestratus remarked in the 4th century BC that the barley bread of Lesbos was or unsurpassed whiteness. Of course this would make it slower toasting, but I'm not sure if it's the same mechanism as in astros bakery.

No, no, it's not albedo, it's libido that's the important factor. (Although I suspect that Antechinus already did this joke)

[MikeS]

Originally Posted by Desmostylus

No, no, it's not albedo, it's libido that's the important factor.

But what about albumen?