The History of Texas Toast

For the uninitiated, Texas toast is made by toasting thick-cut slices of buttered bread using a pan, grill, or broiler. Its origins are a point of contention, with at least two competing claims. The first comes from Gene Dunston, the owner of Dunston’s Steakhouse in Dallas, Texas, who claims to have invented the dish in 1955 when he ordered unsliced loaves from a local bakery and insisted that the kitchen slice them thicker than usual. A rival story holds that in Beaumont, Texas in 1941, a loaf of bread was delivered to an unnamed restaurant but was sliced too thick to fit inside a toaster. Instead of wasting the bread, the kitchen staff put it on the grill and Texas toast was born. While we may never know the exact origins of Texas toast, we do know that it caught on in the 20th century and quickly became a key part of the state’s cuisine. Versatile and flavorful, today it is frequently served for breakfast or alongside many of the Lone Star State’s famous BBQ dishes.