Please log in with your username or email to continue. By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy. How is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. Our trained team stale baguette editors and researchers validate articles for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
How’s Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 980,506 times. A crisp outer surface with a chewy bread center, permeated with the flavors of the meat drippings, butter, or batter it was cooked in. This is the ideal fried bread, and if done correctly, it only takes a few minutes to prepare and less than a minute to cook. You might be looking for a Navajo fry bread recipe instead.
Fried bread is almost always eaten with one or more other fried foods, as part of an English breakfast. This often includes eggs, English bacon, sausage, sliced tomatoes, mushrooms, and baked beans. Depending on how much meat and butter you used in the fry-up, you might already have enough fat in the pan. But let’s be honest: caloric introspection has no place when frying bread. Add a small knob of butter, a splash of flavorful vegetable oil or, more traditionally, bacon drippings or lard.
Turn the stove on medium-high until the oil shimmers and gives off heat. A hot pan will keep the bread crisp, instead of weighed down by soggy grease. Add sliced bread to the pan. Slightly stale white bread is perfect, as the dry slice will soak up the flavorful oil more quickly.
Save that fresh loaf of whole grain for the people who want toast instead. Slice the bread into triangles if you have a small pan. A small sprinkle of salt and a quick turn of the pepper mill will add some flavor, but this isn’t mandatory. Cayenne pepper is another option for people who enjoy spice with their breakfast. Cook for a few seconds or until golden brown. If the pan is hot and oily enough, you’ll only need a few seconds on each side to make the bread crisp, golden brown, and full of the flavors of the fried meal. 30 seconds, but pull it out before it gets too soggy.
Cut a hole in a slice of bread with a cookie cutter or knife. You can use just about any type of bread for this method, as long as it can be sliced without crumbling apart. Cut a hole in the center of the bread using a cookie cutter, or cut out a shape using a knife. You can fry the cut-out shape as an addition, or nibble it while you cook. If you use a knife, put the slice of bread flat on the cutting board, and use the tip of the knife in an up-and-down motion, perforating the bread with small holes rather than tearing through the bread directly. Heat butter or oil over medium-low. Add a generous amount of butter or cooking oil to a frying pan or skillet.
Give it a minute to heat up, or a couple minutes if you are using an electric stove. It should be hot enough to give off a nice sizzle when you place the bread in. Don’t use high heat, or the bread will burn before the egg is cooked. Place the bread in the pan. Make sure the butter or oil is spread evenly over the pan, then drop the bread slice onto it.
Immediately move on to the next step. Optionally, add the cut-out section of bread as well, if it stayed in one piece. Crack an egg into the hole. Crack an egg directly into the hole at the center of the bread, from just above the pan. Add salt and pepper to taste. If serving guests, you can provide this on the dining table instead.
Alternatively, cook alongside anything you would enjoy on an omelette. Try grating a few shreds of cheddar cheese and placing it over the cut-out bread shape. Flip the bread once the egg white is mostly opaque. You can cook your egg in your preferred style, but a runny egg will be easier, since the bread is less likely to char.