We’ve no doubt all had those situations where we’ve not been able to go food shopping for whatever reason and as a result, there aren’t a lot of ingredients in the house to inspire any sort of extravagant brunch.
This usually happens to us when we’ve got friends over to visit and days are spent on the beaches of Fethiye or going out on day trips. Regular routine goes out of the window and all of a sudden, the cupboards and fridge look a bit sad for themselves because we’ve neglected them by failing to replenish dwindling stocks.
So now, it’s brunch time, we’re hungry and we’re staring at not very much in the way of food. What to do? Fortunately, for us, we’ve usually got a bit of yesterday’s leftover bread lurking about the kitchen somewhere and it’s very rare that we don’t have a few eggs in the fridge. Eggy bread to the rescue!
How To Make Yumurtalı Ekmek (Eggy Bread)
Old bread makes great eggy bread
Let’s say right now; this is not the healthiest recipe you’re ever going to come across – but it is going to get you off to a good start to a day and it really does the trick in the satisfaction stakes.
Eggy bread is also common in Turkish cuisine – sometimes, you will see yumurtalı ekmek (eggy bread) served as part of your Turkish village breakfast but for the purposes of this post, we’re making this great simple dish as an emergency brunch which, emergency or not, never fails to please!
Turkish bread is very airy and doesn’t contain preservatives so, even after just a few hours, it can lose that fabulous, freshly baked texture. Cutting it into slices and making eggy bread is a perfect way of using up your not-very-fresh bread.
Oodles of chilli flakes for us
This is one of those dishes where Barry takes over in the kitchen. He’s good at this sort of food and, well, our kitchen just isn’t big enough for the two of us!
Soak your bread in the egg
I set the table whilst he beats eggs, chilli flakes and other little additions on a large plate and starts to soak the bread in the beaten eggs.
Meanwhile, the oil and butter is gently heating in the frying pan and all manner of condiments and accompaniments are added to the table; salt, sauces and süzme yoghurt.
Now your bread is ready for the pan
Once all the egg has soaked into the bread, it’s time to add the slices to the heated oil and butter.
We know butter is naughty, but we’re all allowed a little naughty food treat every now and then, aren’t we. It just makes for a richer flavour. And after a few short minutes, your brunch is ready to hit the table.
Eggy Bread Recipe – Ingredients & Method
- 4 1.5cm thick slices of bread - around 50 g in total
- 2 large free range eggs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil for frying
- 1 knob of butter for frying
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon dried mint
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Crack your eggs onto a large plate
- Add the chilli flakes, cumin, mint, salt and pepper
- Gently beat the mixture with a fork
- Begin to gently heat your oil and butter together in a frying pan
- Take your slices of bread and place them in the egg mixture
- Turn them over, making sure the bread is fully coated on each side
- Now turn the heat to medium and swirl the oil and butter to cover the base of the pan
- Place each slice of bread into the oil and butter mix (you may have to do this in batches, depending on the size of your pan)
- Fry for 3-4 minutes on each side until your eggy bread is golden and cooked to your liking
Standard Turkish bread is light and airy. French or Italian bread is also suitable for eggy bread recipes if you can't get Turkish bread.
Please note: Nutritional information is approximate values.
Now brew yourself a pot of tea, sit down with your knife and fork, salt and pepper and work your way through your eggy bread, marvelling at how to simple ingredients can produce such a great lunch.
If you’ve got any süzme yoghurt in the house, a healthy dollop on the side works wonders.
Good old, no nonsense Turkish eggy bread
Of course, in other circumstances, eggy bread can also be an accompaniment to a bigger meal.
It’s lovely served with a mixed salad, for example, but for this recipe, we’re keeping life easy – well, we’re assuming there’s hardly any food in the house, remember.
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savory turkish french bread..brilliant!!! now i know what i am making for breakfast today! thank you for this recipe!
One slice of this and I would be cured.
@ jaz: Still breakfast time where you are then? 🙂 Afiyet olsun.
@ bellini: Yes, it’s a perfect start to the day breakfast, yumurtalı ekmek. 🙂
i meant turkish french toast! i just made this and my husband and son loved it. what a great addition to breakfast. i had never thought about making savory french toast but now my mind is running with ideas! thanks again for this recipe!
. . jeez! must have been a heavy session!
I’m afraid when I need comfort food it has to be sweet, so I omit the spices and add a dash of pekmez or maple syrup to my finished eggy bread. Even more calories.
@ Jaz: Ahh, well this is yumurtalı ekmek, you see. 🙂 Lovely isn’t it. We always have the savoury version in the UK, too. Didn’t realise the French version was sweet so we’ve learned something today. 🙂
@ Alan: No, the really heavy ones are where you can’t eat, at all. 🙂
@ BacktoBodrum: We’ve not got a sweet tooth so we always crave savoury. 🙂 Like the idea of pekmez or even nar ekşisi though – would still go with the chillies. Might try that. 🙂
that’s a proper comfort food, would love some now:) afiyet olsun! Ozlem
@ Ozlem’s Turkish Table: Well, we need something to replace the full English when we’re not feeling too good and yumurtalı ekmek does the trick just fine! 🙂
A day is not lost when you learn something new 😉 It would never have occurred to me to make savory French toast, but it sounds fabulous! I can see myself sprinkling it with a bit of cheese…
@ Miss Footloose: Cheese sounds good. The sweet savoury thing has really interested us. Must give the sweet a go one day. 🙂
You can add some milk to the mixture too.
Yeah, might try that. We use milk in our omelettes and scrambled eggs so I guess there’s no reason why we shouldn’t add it to yumurtalı ekmek. 🙂
Would be good with some cheese in the egg mix, maybe something strong and finely grated like Pecorino.
Yeah, an interesting addition to the eggy bread. I’d have to try that alone as Barry’s not a big fan of cheese being added to some foods. 😉