Poached egg on toast.

[stef]

I have over the last few months been trying to make the perfect poached egg on toast.

I have the eggs, the butter is beurre cru d'Isigny, with its rock salt it is fantastic. I even have a wonderful light fluffy French salt to apply to the eggs, but I think there could be an improvement on the bread.

I have tried various types of bread for the toast and surprisingly the best two have turned out to be "supermarket industrial bread" form the Co-Op in first place with Aldi in second place.

All the so called "Finest" "taste the difference" type brands from other supermarkets have been disappointing.

I have tried local baked on the premises bread but the latest one was worse than the supermarkets.

I have tried wholemeal etc. but basically I'm a white bread man for my toast and also bacon sandwiches.

Can anyone recommend a bread suitable that is sliced and can be frozen? I only use two slices a day.

[Anna N]

I can only speak for myself and say that the toast MUST fade into the background. Supermarket bread is the only thing I will use for the toast for poached eggs. In this instance its total lack of character or flavour is a virtue.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Well, er, I like either supermarket wheat or, as an interesting but not everyday alternative, supermarket rye. But then, I'm from California. That said, poached eggs on toast are one of my favorite comfort meals.

Edited to add that I also love poached egg on salad, poached egg in soup, poached egg on ratatouille, poached egg on...

Edited October 28, 2007 by Margaret Pilgrim (log)

[Peter the eater]

I was recently made a poached egg and toast by my father-in-law, he used Weight Watcher's brand white bread . . . and it rocked! The slices are small, square and thin. Maybe its what your looking for.

[naebody]

Oscar Tschirky knew what he was doing when he switched from toast to English muffin. Why mess with the classics?

[Fat Guy]

Stef, what are you trying to get from the bread? Do you want it to have an independent, complementary flavor? Or do you want it to be essentially invisible?

Also, what method are you using for toasting the bread? I've found that most toasters aren't very good at creating toast. They simply brown the outside of the bread. The oven, at a moderate temperature, does a much better job of gently toasting bread all the way through, removing much of the moisture in order to give the toast a proper texture. It's kind of a pain to pre-heat the oven just to make a couple of slices of toast, but it greatly improves the texture of your toast.

I happen to like toasted challah (or brioche or another egg-based bread) a lot as a substrate for poached eggs. But that assumes you want your toast to bring flavor to the table. You also have to toast challah low and slow or it burns.

[Helen]

Oscar Tschirky knew what he was doing when he switched from toast to English muffin. Why mess with the classics?

←

English muffins, definitely. But what eggs do you use? I go for Cotswold Legbar or Burford Browns myself - they're usually the freshest, going by the date-stamp, and they have the tastiest yolks I've found. But perhaps there are better which I haven't tried?

[jackal10]

Do you cut a round out from the centre of the bread for the egg to sit in?

[marlena spieler]

I'm of the muffin brigade, basically, though I take a big detour when I have a stash of sourdough bread in my freezer--poilane, sour rye from nyc, acme's levain, or....my fave of the moment: sourdough bread from Napoli or Puglia (I bring it back in my suitcase or beg friends travelling from there to bring me some!). The roughly cut sourdough gets all crunchy in different parts, in a similar way to the [english] muffin.

and my fave way of all is to top the eggs with a shower of shredded mature cheddar, a splodge of worchestershire sauce and a drop of tabasco. pop under the grill/broiler til it melts. this dish has it all: tender soft poached egg, melty cheese, crunchy toast and a big ol' hit of umami!

[stef]

Jackal no, infact I try to keep everything on the bread, for some strange reason I don't like to spill the yolk on the plate

I think that it was the Pitou's thread on butter that started this all off, I bought some beurre cru d'Isigny and then looked at ways of incorporating it into the food I cook.

I take it out of the fridge and cut it so that it lays in thin blocks on the bread and melts slowly, then I add the egg and the light sprinkling of salt.

Helen the eggs I get from a local butchers who sells local reared eggs. He also supplies some great meat including genuine wild venison.

[stef]

Stef, what are you trying to get from the bread? Do you want it to have an independent, complementary flavor? Or do you want it to be essentially invisible?

Also, what method are you using for toasting the bread? I've found that most toasters aren't very good at creating toast. They simply brown the outside of the bread. The oven, at a moderate temperature, does a much better job of gently toasting bread all the way through, removing much of the moisture in order to give the toast a proper texture. It's kind of a pain to pre-heat the oven just to make a couple of slices of toast, but it greatly improves the texture of your toast.

I happen to like toasted challah (or brioche or another egg-based bread) a lot as a substrate for poached eggs. But that assumes you want your toast to bring flavor to the table. You also have to toast challah low and slow or it burns.

←

Fat Guy you have asked a question that is causing the dilema, do I want it to be invisible, no I would like it to be an independant complementary flavor.

I will try the challah if I can find it locally.

[marlena spieler]

.....what method are you using for toasting the bread? I've found that most toasters aren't very good at creating toast. They simply brown the outside of the bread.

←

Fat Guy, you are a man after my own heart! toasters make such insipid toast! I use the broiler/grill, and use handsliced bread so that the slices are somewhat irregular, giving lots of peaks and little indentations, where the bread can be even more roasty, crunchy, darkly delicious.....it really enhances my whole experience of toast.

[jackal10]

The only true toast, for those who know it, is AGA toast, made by putting the bread in a special holder between the hot plate and its lid.

The hot plate is at about 200C/400F, and effectively acts as a contact grill. The result is thin, crisp, crunchy toast, somewhat dehydrated on the surface, with a characteristic pattern from the toaster's mesh

[stef]

The only true toast, for those who know it, is AGA toast, made by putting the bread in a special holder between the hot plate and its lid.

The hot plate is at about 200C/400F, and effectively acts as a contact grill. The result is thin, crisp, crunchy toast, somewhat dehydrated on the surface, with a characteristic pattern from the toaster's mesh

←

Ah yes that brings back memories, however I don't have an AGA anymore.

[stef]

.....what method are you using for toasting the bread? I've found that most toasters aren't very good at creating toast. They simply brown the outside of the bread.

←

Fat Guy, you are a man after my own heart! toasters make such insipid toast! I use the broiler/grill, and use handsliced bread so that the slices are somewhat irregular, giving lots of peaks and little indentations, where the bread can be even more roasty, crunchy, darkly delicious.....it really enhances my whole experience of toast.

←

marlena but what about the fact I only use two slices of bread per day so I have to buy bread and freeze it otherwise its a waste.

Or should I buy it cut it and then freeze it?

[The Blissful Glutton]

I am a big fan of the loaves of buttery white bread that you can get at Korean and Japanese bakeries.

I find that a thick slice is perfect for poached eggs and so much more. I think it is called "toast bread" or "milk bread."

If you have a Super H Mart in your area, you should be able to get it there.

[Soupcon]

Stef

Try toasting thinly sliced farmer's rye bread as a foil for the poached eggs. Toasting carmelizes some of the sugar in the bread and the thin rye bread toasted is yummy, especially when dripping with butter and seville orange marmalade. This is my favourite toast for everything and a perfect base for poached eggs.

[budrichard]

Holland Rusk! A nice platform for your poached egg. Made even better with Canadian Bacon/bacon and Hollandaise sauce!-Dick

[marlena spieler]

.....what method are you using for toasting the bread? I've found that most toasters aren't very good at creating toast. They simply brown the outside of the bread.

←

Fat Guy, you are a man after my own heart! toasters make such insipid toast! I use the broiler/grill, and use handsliced bread so that the slices are somewhat irregular, giving lots of peaks and little indentations, where the bread can be even more roasty, crunchy, darkly delicious.....it really enhances my whole experience of toast.

←

marlena but what about the fact I only use two slices of bread per day so I have to buy bread and freeze it otherwise its a waste.

Or should I buy it cut it and then freeze it?

←

hiya, stef,

I usually only use one or two slices of bread a day, too..... when i bring it home I slice it up and freeze it in several bags--one bag of thinly sliced bread, one of thicker as croutes for soup such as french onion or agua cotta..... i don't mind the bread being presliced as 1. i'm going to toast it anyway, and 2. its hand-sliced, so rough and uneven. this way I can sort of snap off just what i need. i looooooove my bread-for-toast stash!

[Big Bunny]

Potato bread is great toasted or fried.

BB

[divalasvegas]

I second the potato bread, but the other really great alternatives--at least to my liking--are the Pepperidge Farm Original, Farmhouse Country White, and Farmhouse Hearty White varieties. I'm also partial to a decent sour dough bread/toast. I personally do not like whole wheat or any type of multi-grain bread for poached eggs on toast.

Edited October 29, 2007 by divalasvegas (log)

[John Hammond]

It can depend on mood or occasion. For myself and a quick breakfast I will often use generic bread but if there will be guests, I will usually bake a loaf of my own white with a small handful of flax seed and a handful of wheat berry (that has been simmered for an hour to tenderize it and then cooled) added to the dough.

This makes toast without a strong flavor to overwhelm the egg but with textural character to enhance the meal.

[Peter the eater]

Fat Guy you have asked a question that is causing the dilema, do I want it to be invisible, no I would like it to be an independant complementary flavor.

I will try the challah if I can find it locally.

You definitely do not want Weight Watchers white sandwich bread.

[andiesenji]

My very favorite sliced bread, on which to place a poached egg, is salt-rising bread.

It has a delicate, slightly cheesy flavor that complements the flavor of the egg, without overwhelming it.

When Van De Kamps was still around, I always had a couple of loaves of their version of this bread in the freezer as it tasted even better when toasted directly from the freezer.

Since the commercial stuff is now difficult to find, I have to make my own.

I also like the "English Muffin Toasting Bread" that is marketed by some of the stores in my area.

[Carlovski]

I'll second the oven for toasting argument - only dilemma being I don't like heating the whole oven for a slice or two of toast. I've tried using a griddle pan, with mixed results.

Most British high street bakeries are fairly dire too - the best toast is only when i pick up a loaf from the farmers market.

Other issue is that I think that for a poached egg you want a thicker than usual slice - another reason for the oven method as a toaster will not do the job. So a white sliced loaf is out.

If you come up with an answer, please let me know!