This Japanese-Inspired Dish Uses Similar Ingredients To American Pizza

Simple food done well can be every bit as mind-blowing as the fanciest dish, in our humble opinion. Every food culture has recipes made with just a few ingredients that allow the flavors and textures to shine. Pizza is just such a meal, whether you prefer the unique Detroit style or love it tavern style, à la Chicago. In Japan, in specialist coffeehouse-style eateries called kissa or kissatens, there's a kinda-sorta pizza-style dish that some people travel long distances to enjoy: pizza toast. Often served with coffee, pizza toast takes the key ingredients of the celebrated American dish and gives it a delicious twist.

White bread slices form the base, cut a good inch or so thick (these are usually made of soft, lightly sweet shokupan, also called milk bread). The bread is then topped with tomato sauce, cheese, and whatever else you fancy, be it peppers, bacon, onions, or tomatoes. The whole thing is slid into a toaster oven until the cheese begins to melt and turn golden, before being wolfed down while piping hot. If you want to recreate the authentic taste of Japanese pizza bread, check out your local specialty stores for shokupan. If you can't get your hands on some, challah or brioche will be just fine.

Pizza toast emerged in 1960s Tokyo as an alternative to American pizza, which was then regarded as a luxury food in the country. In their heyday, there were around 150,000 kissas serving pizza toast and other foodie mashups, but that number is now in sharp decline. As a magnificent comfort food, we think pizza toast definitely needs more people to toot its horn.

Just as French toast requires a particular kind of bread, it's also key to a successful slice of pizza toast. Whether you use challah, shokupan, or another similar white loaf, tradition dictates that most of the crust should be cut off (though you absolutely can keep it if you prefer). That lack of structural integrity, coupled with the thickness of the slice, means you should avoid piling on too many toppings, unless you want the whole thing to collapse into a sticky, bready mess.

Slice any meat or veggie toppings thinly, so they will cook evenly. A pro tip is to add the cheese in layers so the other ingredients stick to it and won't all slide off when it's cooked. Finally, if your slab of pizza toast is tricky to handle, you can cut it into smaller, more manageable slices — just like a traditional pizza.