A few weeks ago, Kramer made this beautiful sourdough boule, which was incredibly good and there was not nearly enough of it to go around – I think we finished it off the same day that it was made…what can I say? I’ve never met a piece of bread that I didn’t like, especially sourdough bread. In my last post about eggs, my friend Andrea’s mom, Jennifer, told me that my dish reminded her of what is called “Eggs and Soldiers” in England. I loved the name so much that I thought it’d be a great way to both utilize Kramer’s fine bread workmanship, as well as to devour as much bread as possible. So, we soft-boiled some eggs, something that Kramer is also a master at, cut up our beautiful sourdough boule, and before we knew it, we were in a wonderful egg yolk heaven. There’s just something magical about dipping your toast into a perfect soft boiled egg, and watching all of the bright yellow yolk spill out – an egg yolk cooked correctly is nature’s perfect sauce, didn’t you know?
All you need to make delicious soft boiled eggs.
Fill your pot with 4 inches of tap water, add your vinegar, and heat to 180 degrees F, then submerge them in the water and cook, covered, for exactly 6 minutes.
Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon.
Butter your toast (we used the sourdough boule that Kramer made) and cut into slices thin enough to dip in your egg.
Now cut the tops off of your eggs – you can use a cheap egg cutter
, like I did, or you can tap around the outside of the egg to crack it – either method works well.
Ta da!
Serve with your toast sticks and dip!
- 4 large, cold eggs
- water (enough to fill a pot with 4 inches of water)
- 1 tablespoon distilled vinegar
- buttered toast, cut into sticks, for dipping
- salt and pepper, as desired
- Fill your pot or deep-sided pan with 4 inches of water. Heat the water over a medium-high flame to 180 degrees F (it should be steaming) - I really recommend using a thermometer, if you can.
- Place your cold eggs in the 180 degree F water, cover with a lid, turn off the heat, and cook for exactly 6 minutes. When you place the eggs in the water, the temperature may drop a bit, so be sure to turn the heat up for 30 seconds or so to compensate, then check the temperature again before placing the lid on the pot and turning off the heat entirely.
- Remove the eggs from the water when 6 minutes is up with a slotted spoon, cut the tops off of the eggs, and serve with toast, salt, and pepper.
I’ve never used vinegar in the water before. What is it for?
It helps the shell peel away from the egg easier…supposedly. Some people say that it’s a myth, others swear by it – I’ve always just done it because hey, why not?
I am terrible at getting eggs boiled correctly, I finally bought a microwave egg boiling contraption and it works great. I am going to give this a try.
I bet you can do it! The 6 minutes exactly is the key.
This looks delicious…I love running yolks with warm slice of toast…yum
It’s my favorite!
I love eggs and soldiers! I’ve not had that for breakfast for years, and have been less inclined to since moving to America. It’s not that eggs are bad here, just that they taste different, and I worry that if I make eggs and soldiers with said eggs, because of the taste difference it will ruin the memories for me.
Weird thought I know, but it makes sense to me!
Have you tried any farm fresh eggs? I bet there are lots of places to buy ’em in California! I hope you get to eat this again.
I love soft boiled eggs! I’ll have to try the vinegar in the water next time. Thanks!
I used to love eating this when I was younger. the soldiers are even better when you put marmite on the toast as well as butter.
I have never had marmite, but I think it’s about time I try it out.
Such a fantastic breakfast! One of my favorites for sure!
I’m glad you agree 😉
I love your post! Just the perfect time to introduce healthy breakfast to my toddler who loves singing rhymes like Humpty Dumpty, and all…
She is getting picky with breakfast dishes now that she is growing up and I cannot allow my creativity to go stagnant during these times. Thanks to posts like this one.I know my presentation won’t be as pretty as yours (mine will be messy, I can bet on that…) But I know I’ll have an A for effort. Thanks for sharing!
It’s so hard to get kids to eat sometimes, but I hope that the fun of dipping toast in the eggs helps! We make this all the time, and it’s not always as pretty as this, I assure you.
omg this looks amazing!!!! great photos too! i never knew egg cutter existed! must be living under a rock! oh, and wouldn’t it be nice if we had some truffles too 😀 thanks for sharing
My kingdom for some truffles (seriously)!
It’s been so long since I’ve made soft boiled eggs! Any excuse to eat more bread (and bust out that egg cutter) is fine by me. You are a master of toast sticks, my dear!
It’s a title I will wear proudly.
Somehow eggs creep me out…especially soft-boiled! 😛 Pretty picture, though.
Aww, give ’em a try! It’s delicious, I promise!
I love eggs & soldiers. I use to make it all the time in college since it’s fairly easy to make. haven’t had it in awhile!!
I, too, lived on eggs in college – I still do!
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This reminds me of the soft-boiled eggs my mom would make me when I was younger. I haven’t had one in over 20 years since she passed. I may have to try this.
I think your mom would be happy to know you were making them again – what a great way to remember her.
Sydney
That sounds tasty! I have never tried soft boiled eggs but do like a good runny egg yolk! and I never met a piece of bread I didnt like either! Theres a french/dutch restaurant here in Phnom Penh that serves this same dish but instead of soldiers they call the pieces of toast “toast fingers” which I thought was equally amusing!
What a cute name!
Lovely way of showing the recipe – This is definitely a Sunday tea time favourite in our house followed by scones, jam and cream (very English although we live in Wales!). I love that egg top cutter, I wonder if you can buy them here in the UK as I am always the one burning my fingers cutting off the tops for the kids 😉
I bet that you can! Do they have Amazon in the UK? That’s where I got mine.