A Fried Egg (and Fried Toast) for Friday

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Fried eggs are a my comfort food. I find myself frying them up at all times of the day and night. After a long night out, I've been known to curl up in bed with a fried egg sandwich (on a plate, of course).

I found myself on my own at home for breakfast a few days ago and realized there was no rush or pressure to get out the door. I heated up my pan, good and hot and was about to fry my egg when a thought occurred to me. Fried toast would be really nice, too.

It seems odd, the idea of frying bread, without some kind of sweet French-toast style coating. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that fried bread was something I had eaten in Italy many years ago, and loved.

The year was 1989, a 19 year old me and Gran-Fran (pre the "Gran" days, still just "Fran") left NY and went to live in Italy for a month on a college language program. It was awesome.

We had fried bread one night, and vowed to make it ourselves one day. Well, we never managed to replicate that fried bread, and I'm not saying mine is an exact copy of it, but it turned out really tasty. The keys were to make the pan super hot, and use more olive oil than you normally might. And, wait for it....frozen bread. This was the first time I happened to have frozen bread, since the gluten-free kind I use (Udi's) is sold and stored in the freezer. Instead of toasting it, I decided to just throw it in the hot oil. It fried up just right, and quickly, too.

I'm going to explore making some kind of an egg wash to fry my next batch, since I think what we ate in Italy wasn't just plain old bread fried extra crispy. For now, though, I've found my new favorite breakfast.

Fried Eggs over Fried Toast

serves 1

Ingredients

  • 1 piece of  frozen Bread (Udi's Gluten Free is my bread of choice)
  • 1 Egg
  • 3 Tbsps Olive Oil
  • Salt to Taste
  • 1/4 tsp Smoked Paprika

Method:

  • Heat a small frying pan to super hot (I know this is not a technical term, but it's the most descriptive I can come up with).
  • Add the olive oil and a sprinkle of salt.
  • Put the frozen bread in the oil and cook for about 1 minute.
  • Turn the bread over and cook for another 30 seconds, or until evenly browned.
  • Put fried bread on a plate and set aside.
  • Crack the egg into the super hot pan and cook until it's done to your liking. It took about 30 seconds for my egg to cook.
  • Add the paprika.
  • If you want an over-easy egg, flip it and cook for another 20 seconds.
  • Remove the egg from the pan and place it on top of the fried bread.

Enjoy!

Pizza In Five

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Remember when I told you all about the Foodbuzz Festival? Well, while I was there, I was lucky enough to receive a copy of the book Pizza in Five by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. I made their gluten free pizza crust dough and I certainly was pleased with the results.

It has been really challenging adhering to a gluten-free (and dairy-free) diet this past year, so when I saw their recipe I was excited to try it. There are a lot of ingredients, some of which you just won't have in your pantry, but all of which were well worth purchasing. I found most everything I needed between Whole Foods and Safeway. I also know our local organic co-op sells all of the ingredients in bulk. At the bulk stores you have the option of buying smaller quantities.

The crust had a great chewy quality to it, but it was also crisp, which is something I've been missing with other gluten-free doughs I've experimented with.

Oh, and there are tons of other people cooking from this fantastic book and posting their results to #PizzaPartyIn5 today, so go and check it out!

Herewith, are the step-by-step photos of what I did to make this delicious pizza.  I'll post the recipe and the instructions soon, but was excited to get this up for everyone to enjoy.

Gluten-Free Pizza Dough

from Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day, by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups Brown Rice Flour
  • 2 cups White Rice Flour
  • 2 cups Tapioca Flour (aka Starch)
  • 1 1/2 cups Cornmeal
  • 2 tbsps Granulated Yeast
  • 1-1 1/2 tbsps Kosher Salt (I used Fleur de Sel)
  • 2 tbsps Xantham Gum
  • 3 1/4 cups Lukewarm Water
  • 1/2 cup Olive Oil
  • 2 large Eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 tbsps Sugar, Honey, Malt Powder or Agave Syrup (I used Honey)

Method:

  • Mixing and Storing the dough: Whisk together the flours, cornmeal, yeast, salt, and xantahn gum in a 5 quart bowl, or a lidded, (not airtight) food container.
  • Combine all the liquid ingredients with the sweetener and add the mixture to the dry ingredients, using a spoon, 14 cup food processor (with dough attachment), or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with paddle), until all of the dry ingredients are well incorporated. You may have to  use wet hands to get the last bit of flour to incorporate if you're not using a machine.
  • Cover (not airtight), and allow it to rest at room temperature until the dough rises, approximately 2 hours.
  • The dough can be used immediately after its initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate it in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 5 days.  Or store the dough for up to 3 weeks in the freezer in 1/2 pound portions.  When using frozen dough, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight before use.
  • On pizza day, break off a piece of the dough. It will not have any stretchiness like wheat doughs.
  • Roll out the dough directly on a pizza peel, (I rolled mine right onto my stainless countertop with flour on it) covered generously with flour and cover the dough with plastic wrap.
  • Roll into a 1 1/8 inch thick round.
  • As you roll out the dough, use a dough scraper to make sure the dough isn't sticking to the peel (or whatever surface you're using); add more flour if needed.
  • Gently pull off the plastic wrap, and top.

Put the Pizza Together and Bake It:

my own interpretation of the method from the book

  • Turn oven up to highest setting (mine was 500 degrees).
  • Put your pan in the oven to get it as hot as possible.
  • Prepare all your ingredients: I used bacon, chanterelle mushrooms, potatoes, tomatoes, pesto,  and egg.
  • Roll out the dough as described above.
  • Remove the pan from the oven (must do this quickly so the pan doesn't cool down too much). Add some olive oil.
  • Using a flat stainless scraper to pick it up and put it on the super hot pan.
  • Working quickly, add all your toppings (see photos below, I have them in order of ingredient application).
  • Finish with the cracked egg on top, and add a bit of olive oil and spices.

Bake in the hot oven for about 10 minutes, or until the edges are browned and the egg has set.

Enjoy!