There is a difference between toasting and cooking. In making toast you are not actually cooking the sliced bread, but Toasting it.

The difference lies in what is known as The Maillard Reaction. This is a chemical reaction between an amino acid and a reducing sugar, in this case requiring the addition of heat. Much like caramelization, it is a form of non-enzymatic browning. The reactive carbonyl group of the sugar interacts with the nucleophilic amino group of the amino acid, changing its flavor.

Toasting slowly warms the bread, adding a crispness that holds toppings more securely including butter, garlic, cheese, jam and other toppings. As an added benefit of toasting the use of stale bread becomes more palatable.

Although used since ancient times, the reaction is named after the chemist Louis-Camille Maillard who investigated this process in the early 1900's.

Toast itself derives its name from 12th century vulgar Latin, tostare meaning to "roast," which is a stem of the Latin word torrere which means "to parch, dry up, roast, scorch."

The modern day word "toast" comes from Old French and first appeared in 1398. It means "to brown with heat."

According to Wikipedia the word Toast, meaning "a toasted piece of bread" is first recorded in 1430

Hopefully that satifies the eggheads.

For the real people, making toast is a simple process of moderately heating slices of a pre-chosen type of bread, hopefully presliced, with the intent of browning it to your own standards of taste.

Unless you are making Kaya Toast this process will most likely involve the use of an electric toaster with complete instructions in its accompanying manual.

The addition of butter, or in some cases margarine, is up to the chef's and/or consumers own personal taste. The addition of other toppings creates an entirely new finished product, cinnoman and sugar making Cinnoman Toast, Jam or Jelly, or the New England custom of penut butter on toast consumed with coffee flavored milk.

Bamboo Toast Tong Bamboo Toast Tongs keep fingers calm and cool when bread's fiery hot and ready for buttering. Instantly pick up potential disasters: keep bagels from burning, waffles from crumbling, toast from smokin'! The safe alternative to removing stubborn bread without reaching for a knife. Measure 6 3/4" long.