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Egg in a hole, not to be confused with toad in the hole, is a widely cooked breakfast dish that involves cooking an egg in a hole in some bread. Egg-in-hole breakfasts are beloved of children and grown-ups around the world.
Unlike toad in the hole, egg in a hole generally doesn’t require sausages. But egg in a hole recipes are so simple and easy that you can add whatever you want - avocado, cheese, or bacon.
The basic egg-in-hole recipe is just a fried egg in the middle of toast. But of course, the difference is in the details. Your choice of egg is the first thing to pay attention to. Usually, hen's egg in a hole is best, but you can use duck or quail eggs as well.
Get the bread right
Then your choice of bread is also very important. Ideally, a nice thick slice of homemade sourdough, but any bread will do. Your bread should be fresh for best results, but you can also use up stale bread, but not if it’s too hard. Egg in hole bagel is another variation that has the benefit of already having a hole.
For egg-in-hole toast, first take a large nob of organic unsalted butter and melt it in a non-stick pan. When the butter melts and starts to bubble, take a couple of slices of bread and make a hole in the middle of them. You can use a round cookie cutter, or if you don’t have one an upturned glass or cup will work just as well. It’s important that the bread is not too squashed by the cutting motion so something with a sharper edge is best.
Egg in a hole recipe
Follow these simple steps to perfect your egg in a hole:
- Place the bread on the butter and fry for 30-40 seconds
- Flip and do the same on the other side
- Take your egg and crack it over the hole, letting it fall exactly into it, for each hole add one egg
- Season it with salt and pepper
- Cook for 2-3 minutes, depending on how well you like your eggs cooked
- Flip the bread over and cook for 30-40 seconds
- Slide off the pan and serve
For baked egg in a hole, the bread can be toasted under the grill then removed, then add the egg in the hole, oven bake and serve. Another variation of your egg in a hole includes dipping the bread in beaten egg mixture for a kind of French toast which you can cook your eggs in.
Other variations for egg in a hole
You may choose to fry your bread in olive oil rather than butter. You might even want to add some garlic or finely chopped rosemary to the butter to flavour the bread. You can crack your egg into a cup or small bowl before adding it to the bread.
There is of course nothing stopping you from elevating your egg in a hole to Michelin star level by trying egg in a hole caviar, or egg in a hole truffle. Try brioche instead of bread and try egg custard instead of egg and you’ve got a sweet pudding everyone will enjoy. Find out other ways to cook eggs.
