The Full English breakfast is a British staple, but the ‘proper’ way to cook it always fires up debate – and an expert has now claimed that one key ingredient ‘has no place’ in the dish
Diving into a Full English is a treat like no other when you’ve got an appetite (or perhaps nursing a bit of a hangover) – yet folks can’t help but argue over the ‘right’ way to whip one up. Adding fried bread may feel like a touch of indulgence at breakfast time, and even though it’s not exactly health food, its tempting crunchiness is hard to turn down.
But does this crispy delight truly belong in the ranks of Full English essentials like hash browns – which some have criticised as a “lazy” pick – or is it an absolute must? Opinions among the pros don’t line up.
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The English Breakfast Society sings the praises of the crunchy component, but Steven Moore, the historical advisor for The English Manner, begs to differ.
“Fried bread is a very old staple of the tradition and absolutely should be included” insists Guise Bule of the English Breakfast Society.
Extolling its virtues he added: “It’s a wonderfully traditional English breakfast ingredient that is really easy to make and adds a wonderful crunchiness to the breakfast plate, and tastes like heaven when combined with egg and bacon.”
Conversely, Steven from The English Manner has a strong opposing stance: “Fried bread is one of those items added by hotels to use up leftovers disguised as adding ‘value’. It has no place on an English breakfast, in our opinion.
“The English breakfast emerged from the Country House Weekend, and the only place you’d find fried bread on one of those tables was under roasted game.”
For those craving a fried bread fix with their morning brekkie, never fear – BBC Good Food has a straightforward recipe to achieve the perfect, crispy finish.
You’ll only need a couple of ingredients: two tablespoons of neutral-tasting oil like sunflower, or 40g of lard, alongside two slices of thick, fluffy white bread. To make, the steps are as follows: “Heat half the oil or lard in a frying pan over medium-high heat.
“Once hot, fry the bread for 1 min 30 seconds until golden, then add the remaining oil or lard, turn the bread over and cook for another 1 min 30 seconds, until golden on both sides”. Easy peasy – with a seriously tasty outcome.
However, one revelation sure to ruffle some feathers is the English Breakfast Society’s recent acceptance of fried bread in a traditional brekkie spread. Notably, this comes off the back of them giving hash browns the thumbs down.
The organisation reasoned that hash browns should give way to the British staple bubble and squeak, given its richer history.
They even attributed the rise of hash browns to American food giant McDonald’s, concluding: “Somebody had to put their foot down. Otherwise, we’ll find kebab meat in our English breakfast before long.”
