Tostas

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Tostas are slices of bread which are brushed with oil and baked in the oven.

Ingredients

• 1 long loaf of bread, sliced on the diagonal, 15 mm thick
• Olive oil

Mise en place

• Pre-heat the oven to 190° C (375° F - gas 5)

Method

1. Brush the olive oil on each bread slice on one side only, making sure that you use enough oil to coat them properly.
2. Arrange, side by side on a shallow baking tray and bake for 6 minutes.
3. Turn the tray round in the oven and bake for a further 6 minutes.
4. Allow to cool.

Serving suggestions

Serve rubbed with garlic or melt some cheese on top of them. Ham and tomato are also used as toppings. If your tostas are smallish, then you can make various tapas by, for example, taking a slice of tortilla and an olive, and skewering them to a tosta with a cocktail stick.

Variations

You can use garlic-infused olive oil if you wish.

Chef's notes

The length and width of your loaf will determine the number and size of the slices. The bread in the image above was a normal French loaf - for bigger slices, you will need something rather wider. Tostas will keep in an airtight container such as a Lock&Lock bowl. I tried making these with ciabatta, but the resulting tostas turned our so hard that I almost broke my teeth on them, so stick to something with a similar texture to a French loaf.