Yumurtalı Ekmek
(yoo-moor-tah-luh ek-mek)
Kahvaltı (The Weekend Before Coffee Spread)
In Turkey, bread is a sacred provision, and discarding a day-old loaf is culturally unthinkable. Instead, Turkish mothers perform a minor culinary miracle, transforming stale, hardening slices into deeply comforting yumurtalı ekmek. Forget the cinnamon-dusted, syrup-drenched American French toast; this is aggressively savory, engineered for the sprawling weekend kahvaltı spread but perfectly suited for a weeknight dinner when the fridge is bare. The genius lies in a simple village trick: whisking a single tablespoon of flour into the egg batter to create a crisp, oil-resistant seal, ensuring the bread fries up golden and rich rather than heavy and greasy. It tastes exactly like home.
Ingredients
- standard white bread or soft French bread1 loaf
- eggs3 large
- whole milk3 tbsp
- all-purpose flour1 tbsp
- kosher salt1/2 tsp
- Aleppo pepper or red pepper flakes1/4 tsp
- neutral cooking oil1/2 cup
Method
- 01
Prepare the batter.
In a wide, shallow bowl, aggressively whisk the eggs, milk, flour, salt, and Aleppo pepper until completely homogenous and no lumps of flour remain.
- 02
Heat the frying oil.
Place a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat and add enough neutral oil to coat the bottom completely, waiting until a single drop of batter sizzles instantly upon contact.
- 03
Quickly dip the bread.
Working in batches, dip each slice of stale bread into the batter for just two or three seconds per side, immediately lifting it out to let the excess drip off so it does not become waterlogged.
- 04
Fry the bread to a golden crisp.
Carefully lay the coated bread into the hot oil and fry for roughly 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per side until a deep, golden-brown crust forms.
- 05
Drain and serve immediately.
Transfer the fried bread to a plate heavily lined with paper towels to wick away surface oil, and serve hot alongside feta cheese, sliced tomatoes, and black olives.
Notes
Dry out fresh bread if necessary.
If you only have fresh sandwich bread on hand, lay the slices on a baking sheet and bake at 250°F for 10 minutes to dry out the exterior before dipping.
Bake it for a hands-off approach.
If pan-frying is too demanding on a weeknight, dip the bread as instructed, arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet, drizzle lightly with olive oil, and bake at 400°F for 15 to 20 minutes, flipping halfway.
Keep it strictly savory.
To experience the true flavor of a Turkish childhood, resist any temptation to add syrup; instead, alternate bites of the hot, salty bread with cold, briny feta cheese and fresh tomatoes.
From Cook Turkish in America.