Upgrade Your Daily Toast With A Crispy Potato Base

Chances are you don't take your toast dry. While bread may be the substance behind toast, it serves mainly as a receptacle for toppings. Sure, we all have our favorite kind of bread to toast, but not many of us are actually paying that much attention to its flavor. So, why not change that and upgrade your morning toast by swapping out bread for some crispy potatoes? When one thinks of crispy potatoes for breakfast, typically hash browns should come to mind. Characterized by their shape, crispy exterior, and fluffy interior, hash brown patties can serve as an excellent substitute for your morning toast. 

The frozen hash browns, with their uniform thickness and toast-like shape, make great bases for fried eggs, mashed avocado, cheese, and butter. You could even slather some jam on them. However, even though the frozen ones are pretty good, there is a certain amount of satisfaction to be had by making your own hash browns at home. And while there is a little more involved than simply popping bread in a toaster, the flavor and crispiness you can get from homemade hash browns are second to none.

One of the easiest ways to achieve a homemade hash brown with a toast-like character is to griddle them straight in a pan. Known as diner-style hash browns, these involve grated potatoes that have had virtually all of their water content removed and have been pan-fried for several minutes to get that crispy exterior and fluffy interior. If you're cooking for yourself, one five-ounce russet spud should work perfectly. It will provide enough grated potato to fill a small frying pan, which is more than enough to sustain you for breakfast. 

However, if you want several smaller hash browns instead of one large one, you might want to add a second tuber for more mileage. Just make sure you are using enough fat like butter, meaning several tablespoons worth, over medium heat to cook your hash browns. The fat will prevent them from sticking to the pan, and ensure a beautiful exterior.

Once the potatoes are cooking, cover them and leave them alone for at least five minutes. The steam generated by the potatoes will help them cook through, plus aid in the development of that crust. Once the five minutes have passed, flip the hash brown and cook for another few minutes. The finished product should be wonderfully crispy and perfect for layering on all of your favorite breakfast ingredients, sans toast.