# Caloric content of toast. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 20, 2001, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caloric-content-of-toast/73240 "2001-07-20T20:41:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dec](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@dec](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dec)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2001, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caloric-content-of-toast/73240/1 "2001-07-20T20:41:30Z")
This thread is not nearly as amusing as the Morning Wood thread, and it will not greatly enhance your earning potential, but it has me bugged. Why do calorie charts indicate that bread contains more calories after being toasted? Does toasting introduce some error into the method used to measure caloric content? Shouldn’t partially oxidizing (toasting) the bread REDUCE the caloric content? ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2001, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caloric-content-of-toast/73240/2 "2001-07-20T20:56:29Z")
I understand digesting food requires some calories and that number is decreased if the food is cooked (or toast)… but you are right… I am more interested in knowing about the 5 o’clock wood and what can be done about it… ---
**Author:** ![Akatsukami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea666f/32.png) [@Akatsukami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akatsukami)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2001, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caloric-content-of-toast/73240/3 "2001-07-20T21:03:34Z")
Depends on how the charts are expressing the calorie content. Toasting bread by partially oxidizing the outer millimeter or so has very little effect on its calorie content. A _slice_ of dry toast will have the same number of calories as the _slice_ of bread from which it was made. OTOH, toasting the bread can drive off quite a bit of water (as much as 60%, in the case of toasting very slowly for a very long time – which is, incidentally, is _not_ how most home toasters work). So, a _pound_ of dry toast will have more calories than a _pound_ of bread, because the bread has more zero-calorie water in it (and, of course, you have to start with more than a pound of bread to get a pound of toast). ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2001, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caloric-content-of-toast/73240/4 "2001-07-20T22:15:39Z")
Yeah, what **Akatsukami** said. [sup](I also said it [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=78816))[/sup] ---
**Author:** ![3waygeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/e95f7d/32.png) [@3waygeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3waygeek)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2001, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caloric-content-of-toast/73240/5 "2001-07-21T01:28:10Z")
> [@](#): > > I am more interested in knowing about the 5 o’clock wood and what can be done about it… Simple; don’t get up until 6 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2001, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caloric-content-of-toast/73240/6 "2001-07-21T01:46:39Z")
I think he meant he’s already up at 5.