Traditional fried bread is the perfect accompaniment to a full English breakfast. Golden, crispy and definitely not greasy if cooked properly, two slices of this delicious alternative to toast is a real treat.
Grandads Cookbook is a collection of recipes from various sources reproduced here for convenience. Recipes are accredited to their original author where known and links are provided to any online source materials.
It’s really easy to cook only taking a couple of minutes for each side and only needing two ingredients.
Celebrating Heritage British Food & Cooking
What do I need?
Fried bread is really easy to make and only needs two ingredients plus a frying pan. This is because English fried bread is shallow not deep fried.
Traditionally, fried bread is cooked in a meat fat such as bacon or duck fat or beef dripping. Nowadays, being a bit more health conscious I use rape seed oil which has a high smoke point so doesn’t burn in the pan.
Fried Bread or Toast?
It has become normal now to be asked in any British cafe or restaurant if you would like white or brown toast with your fried breakfast. But to have the experience of a proper traditional full English you need perfectly fried bread.
You will find when travelling around the country you are more likely to be offered fried bread in the north of England rather than the south.
What Type of Bread To Use?
Ordinary sliced white bread a couple of days old will fry best as it has lost some of its moisture content. Or use some nice crusty bread for that artisan touch.
But if you want to keep your cholesterol levels low, then eating fried white bread regularly is not the best way to go about it. But having the occasional slice and/or English breakfast as part of a balanced diet will not do you any harm and just tastes so good!
With a Fried Egg On Top
Try a slice with a fried egg on top. The crispy golden bread with a runny yolk is a perfect match. This quick video from Bon Appetite shows how although they leave out the milk dunk.
Video Recipe
So use my recipe to make a quick lunchtime treat with an egg on top or for the full English breakfast experience. I guarantee it won’t disappoint!
As Part of a Full English
There is nothing like a Full English breakfast to set you up for a day’s work. So when you order yours add to that a mug of hot tea, some brown sauce and of course fried bread.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is English fried bread?
Usually served as part of a full English breakfast, fried bread is a slice of bread, usually white, shallow fried in beef dripping, oil or on special occasions, duck or goose fat.
Is Fried Bread Healthy?
White bread fried in oil or fat is high in calories with 22g of fat but its so tasty, how can you resist maybe just one slice now and again. Use rape seed oil to keep the fat and calories down.
How long does it take to cook?
Four minutes, two each side.
What type of bread should I use?
Ordinary sliced white bread a couple of days old fry best.
What’s the difference between fried bread and toast?
Toast is dry cooked in a toaster or under the grill. Fried bread is shallow fried in oil or fat.
How many calories in a slice of fried bread?
1 slice cooked in olive oil will be about 140 calories. Fried bread cooked in goose fat will be much higher at about 270 calories.
Other Recipes You Maybe Interested in …..
Most recipes only use bread and some fat or oil to fry it in. This recipe additionally uses a small amount of milk to quickly dunk the bread in before frying which keeps the centre moist and stops the bread absorbing too much fat.
Here’s the Recipe …
Perfect Fried Bread
Equipment
- Frying Pan
Ingredients
- 2 slices thick white bread
- 120 ml milk
- 3 tablespoons duck fat goose fat or beef dripping
Conversions
Instructions
- Heat the fat in a frying pan until it is very hot (almost smoking). Meanwhile, pour the milk into a saucer or shallow dish and take two slices of thick cut bread and ‘dunk’ them on both sides in the milk. This prevents them from absorbing too much fat and keeps the middle of the bread nice and moist.
- Place the bread in the frying pan (stand back – it sizzles!), leave for about 30 seconds, then check the underside to see if it’s browning. Keep checking until it is golden brown (it’s easy to burn if you’re not careful) then turn the bread over and cook the other side in the same way. You will almost certainly find that you have to add more fat as you cook, since fried bread does absorb it quite a lot.
You may also like one of my other favourite recipes …
Grandads Cookbook may reference or include sections of text and images reproduced courtesy of:
- needarecipe.com
- Kingston Olive Oil Company
I haven’t tried this recipe yet but it sounds delicious
I was brought up eating this !!
My nanny was British, we lived in Italy but I was born in America… I love nothing more than a gorgeous, properly cooked English breakfast 🍳 Off to make my fried bread and fried eggs. Glad I found this site ❣️