# Fried egg inside a circle cut out of a piece of bread

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fried-egg-inside-a-circle-cut-out-of-a-piece-of-bread/613023>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [February 16, 2012, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fried-egg-inside-a-circle-cut-out-of-a-piece-of-bread/613023 "2012-02-16T13:58:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 5

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**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fried-egg-inside-a-circle-cut-out-of-a-piece-of-bread/613023/81 "2012-02-16T21:38:41Z")

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The only time I break the yolk is when I’m making a fried egg sandwich for my hubby. I leave it a bit soft, but not totally runny. But yeah, My over easy eggs generally have a soft yolk.

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**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fried-egg-inside-a-circle-cut-out-of-a-piece-of-bread/613023/82 "2012-02-16T21:39:37Z")

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Eggs in a basket.

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**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fried-egg-inside-a-circle-cut-out-of-a-piece-of-bread/613023/83 "2012-02-16T21:53:59Z")

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I learned about it from a 1950s cookbook for kids. I can’t remember what they called it, but none of the names in the poll ring a bell. I think I made it a couple of times, but I’m not a big fan of eggs.

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**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fried-egg-inside-a-circle-cut-out-of-a-piece-of-bread/613023/84 "2012-02-16T22:04:06Z")

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Eggy in the basket.

Toad in the Hole is something completely different (sausages baked in a dish of batter).

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**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fried-egg-inside-a-circle-cut-out-of-a-piece-of-bread/613023/85 "2012-02-16T22:04:34Z")

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> [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](#):
>
> No category for never heard of them, don’t fancy 'em much, so I voted for nasty because of the flipping thing. Then someone mentioned _breaking_ the yolk and I actually moaned in horror. Here in the UK we called a broken fried egg _ruined_. It has to be one of the biggest differences in US/UK cuisine that 🙂

I’m English, and I prefer broken yolks.  
There. I said it.

I do have a somewhat nasty reason though, spoilered for the weak of stomach:

[spoiler] I used to have a job which involved doing the feeding round at a small zoo- including feeding ibis a repulsive dish consisting of minced beef, chopped up fish and chopped day-old chicks, which were bought in bulk, frozen. They still had yolk sacs, and if you let them defrost too much before chopping them, the yolk sacs would burst, squirting you with yolk.

Yolk’s fine coming from an egg, but not from a little fluffy dead chicken. It put me off all liquid yolk for years, and even now, though I do like eggs, I prefer to avoid bursting yolks by biting into them, or seeing yolk drip.

ps. The word ‘yolk’ is starting to look really odd now. [/spoiler]

I voted ‘broken’ on the poll too- I was introduced to this delicacy, unnamed, as an adult, while in Australia. I’d forgotten them, and might have to make myself one one 'o these days…

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**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fried-egg-inside-a-circle-cut-out-of-a-piece-of-bread/613023/86 "2012-02-16T22:06:11Z")

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You’re missing the peameal bacon…

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**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fried-egg-inside-a-circle-cut-out-of-a-piece-of-bread/613023/87 "2012-02-16T22:12:48Z")

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If you add a piece of cheese after the flip and go on as if making a grilled cheese you get what a friend called a “dirty eyed pete”  
I have no idea if the is a correct name or where it came from but it is tasty.

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**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fried-egg-inside-a-circle-cut-out-of-a-piece-of-bread/613023/88 "2012-02-16T22:27:46Z")

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It’s a great breakfast for kids who might be picky eaters because it’s different and has a cool name. We call it a “one-eyed man”.

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**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fried-egg-inside-a-circle-cut-out-of-a-piece-of-bread/613023/89 "2012-02-16T22:31:12Z")

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We called them “Egg in a Blanket,” and it was childhood fave, and I still make it occasionally.

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**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fried-egg-inside-a-circle-cut-out-of-a-piece-of-bread/613023/90 "2012-02-16T22:33:03Z")

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> [@FairyChatMom](#):
>
> My mom called this an Egyptian Eye. I have no idea why, but I like 'em. Haven’t had one in ages, so I know what tomorrow’s breakfast will be! 😃

Exactly what I was coming into post. I grew up in northern NJ. Was it a regional name?

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**Author:** ![MickNickMaggies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/59ef9b/32.png) [@MickNickMaggies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MickNickMaggies)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fried-egg-inside-a-circle-cut-out-of-a-piece-of-bread/613023/91 "2012-02-16T22:43:08Z")

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I’ve a South Jersey grandad here (86 this year!) who swears this is a ‘gas house egg’. But he also spend time in TX and FL in the Navy, so anyone’s guess on the regionality of that.

I learned it from a classmate in Home Ec as ‘Toad in the Hole’.

Here in Scotland, husband requests it as ‘You know, egg in toast thing.’

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**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fried-egg-inside-a-circle-cut-out-of-a-piece-of-bread/613023/92 "2012-02-16T22:49:38Z")

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> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#):
>
> But yeah, My over easy eggs generally have a soft yolk.

By definition, “over easy” _has_ to have soft yolks. Otherwise, they’re “over hard” (or “over medium.” There is some variation in what “over easy” and “over medium” means. For some, “over easy” is soft yolks, and not completely cooked through whites, while “over medium” is soft yolks and cooked whites. For others, that is “over easy,” and “over medium” is that in-between area where the yolks are fairly thick and almost on the way to being cooked through. In either case, “over easy” always has runny yolks.)

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**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fried-egg-inside-a-circle-cut-out-of-a-piece-of-bread/613023/93 "2012-02-16T22:55:30Z")

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> [@pulykamell](#):
>
> By definition, “over easy” _has_ to have soft yolks. Otherwise, they’re “over hard” (or “over medium.” There is some variation in what “over easy” and “over medium” means. For some, “over easy” is soft yolks, and not completely cooked through whites, while “over medium” is soft yolks and cooked whites. For others, that is “over easy,” and “over medium” is that in-between area where the yolks are fairly thick and almost on the way to being cooked through. In either case, “over easy” always has runny yolks.)

Yes, I know. You’re right. I was just typing fast and responding to the idea that flipped eggs in America mean we all want broken yolks.

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**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fried-egg-inside-a-circle-cut-out-of-a-piece-of-bread/613023/94 "2012-02-16T22:57:13Z")

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Never had them as a kid so fie on your poll.

But I like them as an adult. They’re toads in the hole.

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**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fried-egg-inside-a-circle-cut-out-of-a-piece-of-bread/613023/95 "2012-02-16T23:00:10Z")

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> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#):
>
> Yes, I know. You’re right. I was just typing fast and responding to the idea that flipped eggs in America mean we all want broken yolks.

We had a poll on this within the last six months or so. The poll was specifically about what “fried egg” means. Apparently, at least according to Wikipedia, “fried egg” with no other descriptor means a flipped egg with yolks broken until they set hard in at least some parts of North America. I personally have never encountered the term to mean that, nor do I ever remember seeing anyone have an egg prepared in that way.

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**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fried-egg-inside-a-circle-cut-out-of-a-piece-of-bread/613023/96 "2012-02-16T23:01:59Z")

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I voted “never had them” because in my family all fried eggs are steamed, and never flipped, then served on top of toast. You can’t steam a fried egg with bread or it would make soggy bread.  
Growing up the name I heard most often had something to do with the sun or sunshine, I haven’t seen it in the thread.

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**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fried-egg-inside-a-circle-cut-out-of-a-piece-of-bread/613023/97 "2012-02-16T23:07:11Z")

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U m m m … I feel a bit silly, but, I guess I have to ask: how does one steam an egg?

> [@SiXSwordS](#):
>
> Yes I’ve had it. I usually butter the bread first, then use a cup to cut the hole. . .

A cup (or, better, a biscuit cutter, which is sharper so it doesn’t squish the bread) makes a nice, perfect circle. Mr. Horseshoe does them this way. I’ve found, however, that carefully tearing the middle out with your fingers yields less aesthetically pleasing results BUT the craggy edges catch more eggy goodness.

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**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fried-egg-inside-a-circle-cut-out-of-a-piece-of-bread/613023/98 "2012-02-16T23:14:39Z")

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EGGY IN THE BASKET! My sister always makes them when we see each other on holidays. They’re a reminiscent childhood delight. 😃

Also, we didn’t have a name for them until I watched V for Vendetta. That’s what Gordon Dietrich calls them in the movie, so that’s what I call them now. Before that they were just called “toast with egg in the middle.”

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**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fried-egg-inside-a-circle-cut-out-of-a-piece-of-bread/613023/99 "2012-02-16T23:17:44Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> Originally Posted by FairyChatMom View Post  
> My mom called this an Egyptian Eye. I have no idea why, but I like 'em. Haven’t had one in ages, so I know what tomorrow’s breakfast will be!

> [@Southern\_Yankee](#):
>
> Exactly what I was coming into post. I grew up in northern NJ. Was it a regional name?

They were One-Eyed-Egyptions in the 1960s at my house in St. Louis. No idea why mom called them that.

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**Author:** ![that\_darn\_cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/59ef9b/32.png) [@that\_darn\_cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/that_darn_cat)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fried-egg-inside-a-circle-cut-out-of-a-piece-of-bread/613023/100 "2012-02-16T23:18:52Z")

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That’s an egg in a raft. Amazing how many different names people have for this. Never seen it outside my family.

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