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
How To Make Eggy Bread
Ingredients
- 4 thick slices stale bread around 50 g in total
- 2 large free-range eggs
- 1 tbsp olive oil for frying
- 1 knob butter for frying
- 1 tsp chilli flakes optional
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp dried mint
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Crack your eggs onto a large plate.
- Add the chilli flakes, cumin, mint, salt & pepper.
- Gently beat the mixture with a fork.
- Begin to gently heat your oil & butter together in a frying pan.
- Take your slices of bread & 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 & swirl the oil & butter to cover the base of the pan.
- Place each slice of bread into the oil & 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.
Notes
- This is a basic, savoury eggy bread recipe common in both British and Turkish cuisine.
- If you like, you can add a little milk or grated cheese to your egg mixture before you fry it. Alternatively, some people like to add sweet toppings, too, such as honey.
- 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 uses 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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Val Luck
Saturday 23rd of August 2014
Would be good with some cheese in the egg mix, maybe something strong and finely grated like Pecorino.
Turkey's For Life
Thursday 19th of May 2016
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. ;)
sunthing
Wednesday 20th of August 2014
You can add some milk to the mixture too.
Turkey's For Life
Thursday 21st of August 2014
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. :)
Turkey's For Life
Wednesday 18th of September 2013
@ Miss Footloose: Cheese sounds good. The sweet savoury thing has really interested us. Must give the sweet a go one day. :)
Miss Footloose | Life in the Expat Lane
Wednesday 18th of September 2013
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...
Turkey's For Life
Tuesday 17th of September 2013
@ 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! :)