Be it garlicky, buttery or just a thick cut of bread, the Lone Star specialty has found a following in kitchens across the nation.
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Everything is bigger in Texas, so the saying goes. It’s no wonder then that the toast that bears the state’s name has an outsize following across the United States.
The name refers to both the form (a thick slice of white bread) and a style (buttery griddled bread), and it’s one of many Lone Star State foods, like chicken fried steak, queso and chili, that have become American staples.
Recipe: Texas Toast
Barbecue and fast food restaurants have played a role in the bread’s popularity, as establishments like Raising Cane’s and Zaxbys increase their footprints across the country. The most famous of the frozen-Texas-toast brands, New York Bakery, sold more than $300 million in frozen garlic bread last year, most of which was Texas toast.
“There’s something nice about having bread that’s crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside,” said Briana Fountain, who eats the toast at restaurants, or at home in Atlanta as a small pizza or with spaghetti. She added, “And if you warm it up, it’s even better.”
As with many cultural mainstays, the origins of Texas toast are murky. Two outposts of Pig Stand, in Beaumont and Denton, Texas, claimed to have invented it in the 1940s. A cook buttered both sides of the plump bread that was too thick to fit in the toaster and browned it on a griddle instead of sticking it in the toaster.
“Fact or fiction, I’m not sure,” said Monica Perales, the associate vice provost of the Institute of Texan Cultures at the University of Texas at San Antonio. But she feels the tale, and “the dimensions of the bread,” fit the story of Texas. Besides, she added, “Who doesn’t love a buttered piece of bread?”
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