# Factor Affecting Bread Toasting Speed? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 17, 2020, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factor-affecting-bread-toasting-speed/851964 "2020-04-17T05:06:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GMANCANADA](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gmancanada/32/2837_2.png) [@GMANCANADA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GMANCANADA)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factor-affecting-bread-toasting-speed/851964/1 "2020-04-17T05:06:03Z")
So, to change the mood to something less serious: I toasted some raisin bread and forgot to reduce the heat setting on my toaster. It came out almost burnt. Far darker than the normal whole wheat toast I make. At the same setting the WW is lightly toasted. Although my example is raisin bread, I’ve noticed that other breads like Italian-style also toast faster. It got me to wondering: \*What is about certain bread types that cause them to toast so variably at the same heat settings? \* The raisin slice did not seem to be any less thick or weigh much less than my regular whole wheat, but TBH, I didn’t measure or weigh so it could be that. Alternatively, I’m wondering if it’s some component of the flour or some other ingredient like added sugar? Just curious - Any humble opinions? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factor-affecting-bread-toasting-speed/851964/2 "2020-04-17T05:13:20Z")
I’m going with sugar content. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factor-affecting-bread-toasting-speed/851964/3 "2020-04-17T06:16:26Z")
Seconding Beck’s reply, sugar. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factor-affecting-bread-toasting-speed/851964/4 "2020-04-17T06:52:39Z")
Moisture too, it won’t toast if it isn’t dry enough. CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factor-affecting-bread-toasting-speed/851964/5 "2020-04-17T06:55:30Z")
Also density; the denser the bread, the longer it is likely to take to toast. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factor-affecting-bread-toasting-speed/851964/6 "2020-04-17T11:17:44Z")
If anything affects pH, IIRC browning is faster at higher pH. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factor-affecting-bread-toasting-speed/851964/7 "2020-04-17T13:40:20Z")
The original darkness of the toast. White takes longer than brown, etc. Raisin bread is generally a bit darker, at least. If you ever watch the color change while toasting you’ll note there’s no color change for quite a while and then whoop, it starts darkening quickly. The combination of the heat maxing out, the toast starting to darken, etc. makes toaster design a lot harder than it looks. At one point the toast is lightly brown and a few seconds later it’s on the verge of burning. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factor-affecting-bread-toasting-speed/851964/8 "2020-04-17T13:53:37Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > The original darkness of the toast. White takes longer than brown, etc. Raisin bread is generally a bit darker, at least. > > If you ever watch the color change while toasting you’ll note there’s no color change for quite a while and then whoop, it starts darkening quickly. > > The combination of the heat maxing out, the toast starting to darken, etc. makes toaster design a lot harder than it looks. At one point the toast is lightly brown and a few seconds later it’s on the verge of burning. A lot of the “oops done!” effect is moisture. It will take a while to evaporate and take a lot of energy to do so, and when it’s done, “boom, toast!”. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factor-affecting-bread-toasting-speed/851964/9 "2020-04-17T13:57:43Z")
The Miracle of Moisture Management. I recall Dave Arnold wanting to title a forthcoming book as such, but his editor said no. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factor-affecting-bread-toasting-speed/851964/10 "2020-04-17T15:08:15Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > The original darkness of the toast. White takes longer than brown, etc. Raisin bread is generally a bit darker, at least. > > If you ever watch the color change while toasting you’ll note there’s no color change for quite a while and then whoop, it starts darkening quickly. > > The combination of the heat maxing out, the toast starting to darken, etc. makes toaster design a lot harder than it looks. At one point the toast is lightly brown and a few seconds later it’s on the verge of burning. This. Light-colored bread toasts slower than darker bread. Most of the energy in a toaster is optical - IR from the heating elements. A darker surface absorbs this much better than a lighter one, so a pumpernickel bread will that much faster than white bread. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factor-affecting-bread-toasting-speed/851964/11 "2020-04-17T20:25:08Z")
IME, raisin bread has more moisture than plain bread. So the OP would find that the toast would come out underdone rather than overdone if this was the factor. I agree it’s part of the equation, but not as much as color. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factor-affecting-bread-toasting-speed/851964/12 "2020-04-17T20:33:50Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > IME, raisin bread has more moisture than plain bread. So the OP would find that the toast would come out underdone rather than overdone if this was the factor. > > I agree it’s part of the equation, but not as much as color. I wasn’t thinking of color at all myself, and believe you are right that dark toasts faster, but I still think moisture is to blame for the sudden shift from “why isn’t it toasted” to “how did it suddenly burn?” ---
**Author:** ![GMANCANADA](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gmancanada/32/2837_2.png) [@GMANCANADA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GMANCANADA)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factor-affecting-bread-toasting-speed/851964/13 "2020-04-18T03:47:24Z")
Interesting discussion, thanks. I’m not so sure about the bread colour factor. My raisin bread is much much lighter and toasts way faster than the whole-wheat I’m comparing it to. I’m leaning toward the sugar level in the bread. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Vorlon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@The\_Vorlon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Vorlon)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factor-affecting-bread-toasting-speed/851964/14 "2020-04-18T07:50:52Z")
If you want to see something char with ease, try Sweet Bread.