Baked egg-in-a-hole with homemade multigrain

This recent breakfast was inspired by an email.  It was a New Year's day one from Cooking Light and there was this picture of an egg-in-a-hole in it.  It was the bread, or toast, in the picture that caught my attention because it was multigrain toast and I'd only just made my first loaf of multigrain bread. What perfect timing! So I took some of my multigrain bread and decided to get cracking (literally).

I'm sure you've seen egg-in-a-hole (or toad-in-a-hole, etc...) a million times.  Maybe like me, you've seen it but never actually made them?  Or is it just me?  Every Father's Day, I get the notion to make egg-in-a-hole as a fun little "special" breakfast but I never have.  I somehow figured I'd never be able to flip the egg and toast in the skillet and get it looking right (these are crazy things I "worry" about). And that brings me to another reason why this recipe appealed to me - it's baked egg-in-a-hole.  In other words, no flipping in the skillet!

Baking egg-in-a hole sounded like such a great idea to me.  It's a little lighter than sizzling them in an oil or butter-laden skillet.  It also means no flipping so you get a nice bright yolk front and center, and you can make quite a few all at the same time with minimal work.

It sounded so simple, and it was.  I lightly toasted my multigrain bread (luckily, I'd frozen about a third of my homemade loaf), then cut a 2 1/2 inch round from the center of each.  Lightly grease a baking sheet (I used olive oil) and set the bread on top.  Drop an egg in each and bake at 400 degrees for 5-8 minutes, until the egg whites are set but the yolk is still soft.  What you've essentially got is a sunny side up egg with toast for breakfast but in a fun little way.

I cooked some bacon alongside.  That makes my son very happy!  You could get a little fancier and dress your egg-in-a-hole up with some grated cheese and fresh herbs, and crumble crispy bacon or prosciutto over the top.  You can take it for any kind of spin you can think of but it's the general baked factor of this that I really like.  

Egg-in-a-hole is somehow simple yet special. You can use any kind of bread you like but I have to say multigrain toast goes so well here. You can really enjoy the nuttiness and flavor of the toast with the soft egg, without a lot of interference.  The multigrain is so flavorful, you don't really need or miss the butter (or maybe that's just me).  

I just love a good breakfast!

I really love eggs for so many reasons!  After chocolate, eggs are my favorite, most essential ingredient.  I feel good as long as there are eggs in my fridge.  And since I do always have them on hand, and multigrain bread was in my freezer, this Sunday breakfast happened pretty easily.

Start by lightly toasting the bread in the toaster.  Doing this, instead of cooking it til crisp with butter in a skillet like you typically would, lightens this meal up.  I made 3 but you can make as many as you want at once since you're baking them on a sheet pan!  I used a biscuit cutter to cut a 2 1/2 inch round from each slice of bread.  Depending on the size/shape of your bread, you might want to cut a 2 or 3 inch round and you can simply use a glass.

The original Cooking Light recipe that I based this off of actually calls for baking a few slices of bacon in the oven, on a sheet pan, then using the same sheet pan (with the bacon grease) to bake the egg-in-a-hole.  The recipe also adds some cheese, sage, and then sprinkles the crumbled bacon on top.  I opted to keep things even simpler and lighter.  I cooked some bacon separately and simply oiled the baking sheet with a little olive oil.  

I crack my eggs into a little bowl before carefully placing them in the holes (to avoid breaking the yolks).  Then place the baking sheet in the oven and bake at 400 degrees for 5-8 minutes, or until the egg whites are set but the yolks are still soft.  Keep a close eye on them.  During the final minutes, I threw in the toast rounds to crisp them back up a bit.

Worried they might be difficult to remove from the baking sheet?  I was, but a sturdy spatula lifted the egg-in-a-hole out without a problem for me, and I greased my baking sheet fairly lightly.

This was a fun breakfast that I have to say, I ate mostly with my hands.  Just use that toasty bread and dig into the soft egg!  A good, healthy breakfast is such a great way to start of the day!  And now...I think I have to go make more multigrain bread... 


Recipe:

Baked Egg-in-a-Hole with Multigrain Bread

Adapted from Cooking Light

- For one serving (but make as many as you like) -

1 slice multigrain bread (or your favorite kind of bread)
1 large egg
Olive oil or butter, to grease baking sheet
Salt and pepper, to taste
Optional sides/toppings: bacon, cheese, herbs, avocado

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease a baking sheet with olive oil or butter.

Lightly toast bread in the toaster.  Using a biscuit cutter or the rim of a glass, cut a 2 1/2 inch hole from the center of the toast.  Reserve the cutout toast round.  Place toast onto the greased baking sheet.

Crack an egg into a small cup or ramekin, then gently slide the egg into the hole.  Bake until egg white is set but the yolk is still soft, roughly 5-8 minutes.  During the last couple of minutes of baking time, place the cutout round in the oven to crisp up.

Using a sturdy spatula, remove the egg-in-a-hole from the baking sheet onto a plate.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve with the toast cutout.  Serve alongside bacon or other toppings, if desired. (If using cheese, add during the final minutes of baking to give it time to melt.)