Yumurtalı Ekmek (Turkish Eggy Bread)

Yumurtali Ekmek is a delicious and easy-to-make dish, often enjoyed for breakfast. It's similar to what many know as French Toast, but with a unique Turkish twist. This is one of the easy breakfast recipes you can make with eggs and bread slices.

Breakfast in Turkey is not just the first meal of the day; it's a rich and joyful gathering, often extended and savored with family and friends. Among the array of cheeses, olives, jams, and more, Yumurtalı Ekmek often shines as a favorite, especially for kids.

What is Yumurtalı Ekmek?

Turkish French Toast, aka Yumurtali Ekmek, is a simple and tasty breakfast dish from Turkish cuisine.

The name "Yumurtalı Ekmek" means "eggy bread" in Turkish. It's quite similar to what is known as French Toast in other parts of the world.

To make Turkish style French Toast, you take slices of bread and dip them in a mixture of beaten eggs. Sometimes, a little milk, or spices like black pepper, cumin, red pepper flakes and mint are added to the egg mixture to give extra flavor.

After the bread soaks up the egg mixture, it's fried in a pan until it turns golden brown and crispy on the outside.

This is one of those popular Turkish recipes. It's not only delicious but also very easy to make. It's a great way to use up bread that's a bit old and dry, as the egg mixture makes it moist and tasty again.

People often eat Yumurtalı Ekmek on its own or with savory toppings like fried eggs, cheese, cured meat or fruit.

Yumurtali Ekmek Vs French Toast

Traditionally, French toast is served with sweet accompaniments like maple syrup, honey, sweet preserves, and whipped cream.

On the other hand, Turkish eggy bread is essentially a savory French toast recipe. That means that it is served with savory accompaniments like, cheese and eggs.

So basically these two breakfast dishes are quite similar but how they are served makes them what they are.

About The Ingredients

Before looking at exactly how to make yumurtali ekmek, let's first look at what you need. The ingredients are really simple.

Bread

We use plain soft white bread. Brioche, Challah, French bread all work great for this recipe. 

We don't recommend bread with large wholes like ciabatta when making yumurtali ekmek. While it will create delicious flavors, the bread itself won't soak up the egg mixture very well.

So, use any white loaf with a dense, soft, and fluffy porous texture.

Eggs

The key ratio is one large egg per slice of bread. You may be able to get more bread slices from the eggs, but this is the minimum amount we’d recommend. You can easily increase the quantities using this ratio if you are cooking for a crowd. 

Using room-temperature eggs allows the bread to soak up the mixture better.

Milk

The milk in this recipe helps thin the egg mixture a little so the bread slices can absorb it better. 

Want to make it dairy-free? 

It’s exactly the same as how to make French toast without milk. You can either leave it out completely or substitute it with water or a plant-based alternative like almond milk, oat milk or soy milk.

Spices

We use only salt and pepper. You can also add cinnamon for a subtle sweetness or chili flakes (Turkish pul biber) for a little heat. Cumin and oregano or dried mint would work well too.

Butter

It helps create that crispy texture, beautiful brown color and nice buttery taste for sure. You can use olive oil instead if you want to make the recipe dairy-free or with less calories.

How to Make Yumurtali Ekmek

Making yumurtalı ekmek is extremely quick and easy. You can enjoy it as a part of lazy weekend breakfast or on its own as a quick weekday breakfast.

1. Make the egg mixture: Whisk together the eggs in a shallow bowl. Add in milk. Then, season this beaten mixture with salt and pepper to taste.

2. Soak the bread: Work with one slice at a time. Dip the bread slice inside the egg mixture wait until the bottom of the bread is well coated. Flip it over. Make sure that both sides have soaked up the egg before moving on to step 3.
3. Fry the egg-soaked bread slice: Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add about ½ tablespoon of butter (or as much as you like) and let it melt. Then, place the slice of bread inside the pan. Allow it to fry for about 2 minutes or until it has turned golden brown. Flip the slice of bread over and leave it to fry on the other side until it is golden as well.
4. Serve: Transfer the cooked slices to a plate. You can either serve them immediately on their own or with fried or poached eggs on the side.
5. Alternatively, you can keep them warm in a warm oven on the lowest setting (200 F / 90 C) while frying the rest of the slices.

Variations

• Cheesy: Add finely grated cheese such as cheddar or mozzarella in the egg mixture. Place the bread slices in it, let them soak up a little of the mixture on both sides and then fry them in a pan. They will have a nice cheesy crust on the outside. You can even turn them into grilled cheese sandwiches after frying them.
• Sweet: Add a pinch of cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract in the egg mixture and then soak the bread slices in it. Drizzle maple syrup or honey over them when serving. You can top these with some fresh berries.
• For Babies: With its soft texture, this egg fried bread  is a perfect breakfast food for babies starting from 6 months old after they start eating food containing gluten, dairy and eggs. Remove the crust of bread slices for younger babies who don't have any teeth yet. And you can cut them in strips or bite-sized pieces before soaking them in the egg mixture. Your baby can manage them easily this way.

Storage

Yumurtali ekmek is best served immediately. It helps you serve the best possible texture and flavor.

If you have to store any leftovers (but we doubt you will have any), place them inside an airtight container. Then, the slices have to be kept inside the fridge. It will keep well for about a day or two.

You need to re-heat the slices with some melted butter or oil in a hot non-stick skillet to revive their crisp, soft texture.

Tips

• We use milk to thin the egg mixture a little. It makes it easier for the bread to soak up and makes much better egg-fried bread. Leave the milk out if you'd like, or replace it with a vegan alternative.
• If you want to make eggy bread sticks (especially for kids), cut the bread slices in strips before soaking them in the egg mixture.
• The key to making eggy bread perfectly crisp is temperature control. If your slices are browning too quickly (without cooking the eggs on the inside), then lower the heat slightly.
• Leave the bread slices while they cook. If you play with them too much or constantly flip them, they won't get a nice crispy texture and beautiful golden color. You only have to turn them once and fry them on each side once.
• Store the cooked eggy bread in a warm oven while making the rest of the slices. This is only needed for big batches. Preheat the oven to its lowest temperature (200 F / 90 C). Place the cooked slices inside an oven-safe baking dish. 

Can I Make It Gluten-Free? 

Yes, you can! Use your favorite gluten-free bread. As they don't contain gluten, they might easily fall apart when soaking them in the egg mixture. Just carefully flip the slices without letting them sit in the mixture for too long and immediately transfer them into the hot frying pan.

More Turkish Egg Recipes

• Sucuk and Eggs (Turkish sucuk cooked with eggs)
• Turkish Eggs (Poached eggs on garlicky yogurt)
• Menemen (Turkish Tomato Scrambled Eggs)
• Spinach With Eggs (Perfect breakfast for dinner)
• Ground Beef and Eggs (Perfect meal on its own)
• Yumurta Kapama (Boiled eggs cooked in warm butter sauce with spices)
• Turkish Egg Salad (Eggs with fresh herbs and spices)
• Or check out our list of Turkish Egg Dishes for breakfast.

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