Every last Thursday of February is National Toast Day, started in 2014 by UK bread experts to celebrate crunchy, golden toast.

The Maillard reaction was first described by Louis-Camille Maillard in 1912. When the surface of bread heats to about 140°C, the natural sugars and amino acids in the dough start to react. This reaction makes hundreds of new flavor compounds and turns the crust a golden brown. It also creates the nutty, roasted smells we love in toast.Heat also drives moisture out of the bread surface, so the outside becomes dry and crunchy while the inside stays soft. That contrast in texture, plus the new flavors from the Maillard reaction, makes toast more satisfying than plain bread. National Toast Day began in the UK in 2014 to celebrate this tasty change and to boost bread sales in a slow month. The idea has spread, and toast fans in places like the US and Australia now join in by sharing toppings and recipes.