Newfoundland Toutons
Newfoundland Toutons. Olivia has a new video!! The delight of every Newfoundlander, especially served with melting butter & a drizzle of molasses.
Originally published on November 5, 2008.
With all the bread baking going on right now I thought I'd update this favourite Newfoundland breakfast treat, especially in time for Fathers Day Brunch!
Toutons: Pronounced tout(rhymes with pout)-ens.All readers from Newfoundland or those have had some connection with this province, will undoubtedly know what Newfoundland toutons are. Most others will not.
A touton is simplicity itself and perfect simplicity at that. As uninspired as it may seem, a touton is merely a piece of fried bread dough.
While that may not seem particularly appealing, it is an age old culinary tradition in Newfoundland, whose virtues are universally enjoyed by all who have known it.
A crispy outside and a tender slightly chewy inside make them very texturally appealing. In my humble opinion this has accounted for a large part of their long time popularity.
Toutons, an age old Newfoundland tradition.
I have never seen anything similar or heard reference to anything similar to a touton in any other place but Newfoundland.
Likely an invention to use up leftover bread dough from the daily baking of bread, which was very prevalent in Newfoundland kitchens until recent decades.
The dough was flattened into small rounds and traditionally fried in rendered fatback pork. Toutons would then be served with 'Scruncheons', which are the crunchy little cubes that are the result of frying the diced fatback pork.
Toutons are traditionally considered a breakfast or brunch item and can still be found quite commonly on the breakfast menus of many local restaurants.
It is much rarer to find them cooked in fatback pork. Likely because modern day dietary considerations have seen an evolution towards more healthy fats.
A move from the traditional.
The toutons you order in Newfoundland restaurants are far more likely to be fried in canola oil than anything else these days.
I confess that I fry mine in a combination of olive oil and clarified butter, a flavour which I have become accustomed to over the years.
The other very traditional accompaniment to toutons, still very much appreciated by purists, is a drizzle of molasses. A pat of butter melting over the top is a tasty indulgence as well.
I use my standard white bread recipe for toutons which you can find by clicking here.
One other idea that I incorporate them into are Toutons Benedict as pictured above or in place of an English Muffin in breakfast sandwiches.
I make slightly thicker toutons than I normally do, split them like an English muffin and use them to sandwich bacon, cheddar, garlic scrambled egg and roasted red pepper. Definitely one of my brunch favourites!!
2017 UPDATE!
One other recipe suggestion, and one I have absolutely fallen in love with in the past few years is this Crab Cakes Eggs Benedict. This could be my favourite brunch ever!
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Newfoundland Toutons
Newfoundland Toutons. The delight of every Newfoundlander, especially served with melting butter & a drizzle of molasses.
Ingredients
- 1 pound leftover white bread dough, (Approximately)
- canola oil for frying
Instructions
- Form dough into about 2 ounce balls and flatten into 3 to 4 inch rounds, about a ½ inch thick.
- Let rest on a well floured surface for 15-20 minutes to rise a little. This will ensure that they won't be doughy at the centre.
- I use a combination of olive oil and butter to fry the toutons in for more flavour. You can also fry them in traditional rendered pork fat if you choose. Otherwise heat about a half inch of canola oil over medium low heat to about 275 degrees F in a large skillet. (Over that temperature may result in toutons with a doughy centre. You want these to bubble and begin to fry immediately so that they don't absorb a lot of oil but frying as slowly as possible is very important.)
- When they are golden on one side flip them and fry for an equal amount of time on the opposite side. About 4-5 minutes per side if fried slowly, with the oil just bubbling at the edges.
- You can place them on a parchment lined aluminum cookie sheet in a 250 degree F oven for another 10 minutes or so to ensure that they are cooked through if you like.
- Serve warm with butter and a drizzle of fancy molasses.
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Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
gAmount Per Serving Calories 155Sodium 245mgCarbohydrates 24gFiber 1gSugar 2gProtein 4g
The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.
Northern BC here -
I was raised on these, but we call them "Dough Gods". Some of my earliest memories are Mom making a big batch of bread dough up and Dad stealing the last round for these. I still make them, and so do a lot of other people up this way. My sister lives in Kansas and a lot of people there make them too! Definately a home cooking thing (not restaurants) but not just found in Newfoundland either. 🙂
*Shawna
I just discovered this today. An American whose ancestors from generations ago come from Québec said she ate these as a child and insists they are traditional Québecois. She assumes that her French Canadian side of the family has handed down this dish from Québec! I know a lot about foods of the worlld and traditional Québécois food and I never heard of toutons. I did extensive research, even in French, online and in food encyclopedias and found no other connection than to Newfoundland. When I told her, she refused to believe me and was rather categoric. Too bad. Why give credit to the wrong people. It is a Newfoundland invention and if I understand correctly, there is no other place where one can find toutons. In any case, I will make them soon. They look and sound delicious! I love molasses but I will aso try with maple syrup!
Michelle
I was raised in Nova Scotia with my great-grandparents coming from Newfoundland so these were a staple in our home. Even now my kids know that bread day means Toutons and we live in the Seattle area! The closet thing I have found are Utah Scones but they don't eat them the right way with molasses and that's just not okay in my books!
We had them growing up in Minnesota but called them 'Dough Gobs'
My wife had them growing up in Kansas too.
They're all over.
I was raised and am from New Brunswick. As a child, and that wasn't yesterday, my Mother would always save some of her bread dough to make these dough pancakes. We also ate them with molasses. I also made them for my own children. At our house it was from Acadian roots.
My mum ( Acadian from New Brunswick) would make doiyons witb bread douvh and fried. This was eaten with molases. In my grandmothers days it was a quick way to put bread on the table. Will try them for my grandkids this winter. Doris Daigle Guimond
Alas SORRY we too have them here in Nova Scotia. I grew up on the South Shore. I am no Spring Chicken either as the other lady said of herself... As Kids We called them Polly Woggs. Some called them Polly Joes. We also served them with Butter and Molasses. My Mom always kept a loaf of bread back just for them. I make them as well with the traditional white bread dough .Even though we usually ate them with molasses if the molasses jug was empty we ate with butter or whatever...when there is a housefull of kids you ate when it was there or you missed out...My Great Greats also made them so sorry to the lady who sounded quite put out that someone other than Newfoundland would lay claim to the invention I think by the posts you can see no one place can lay claim to Fried Bread Dough..Only to the Name by which they are called....I too did some looking into it Years ago..In Russia its known as Leplushki... So heres to Toutons...Polly Woggs...Polly Joes ...Leplushki...To name a few..If it looks like a Duck ...Walks like a Duck and Quacks like a Duck chances are Its a Duck.....Whatever the name or place of origin I think we can all agree that they are Delicious and everytime we eat one it brings back those memories of growing up Wherever....
So true. I have heard from people all over the world including Italy and Russia and it seems there are plenty of versions and names for fried bread dough.
This brings back wonderful childhood memories of me and my siblings watching Mom make buns and hoping the last pan of risen dough would be flattened and fried into treats. We called them "jeetz kuchen". Visiting Belize a few years back I was delighted to find these on the menu in a little roadside restaurant...what a treat! We ate these with homemade jam or syrup...gonna have to try the molasses version 🙂
We ate these in the USA as kids. Our great-grandmother came to the USA from Quebec in the late 1800's. Haven't found any ancestry lines from Newfoundland tho, just a couple from Nova Scotia who eventually relocated to Quebec. They are delish, we ate them with just plain butter, nicely melted over the hot Touton.
My grandmother lived on the South Shore in Nova Scotia. It was a real treat to catch her putting bread in the oven. She would cut some off and fry them up for us. We had them with butter and molasses or corn syrup!! Man was a good day that was! 🙂
I live in a small community of settlements in southern NB and each has a name for these My husband ,in one fishing village,called them Fry Doughs, while a neighboring coast village call them Floggy Dogs .My Mom who grew up in northern Nb used to cook them on the top of the wood stove and hence the name Stove Cakes All are eaten with mollasses or syrup .I believe this may have come into being from necessity .Bread was a staple to every household and hungry waiting children were probably given the fried treat to ease their hunger and get them out from underfoot.In any case it has developed into a delicious special treat all over.
I've heard them called many things as well. ...even damper devils.
I had them growing up too my mom was menn
onite ancestry we ate them with sour cream for lunch and jam&syrup for desert.40 yrs later I worked as a cook and the boss found an old recipe book that had them in it to serve with stew,customers loved it.This must be what connects us all.
I've since heard of several cultures that have their own versions of fried bread so you are right on that one.
Originally from Northwestern Ontario, almost 60 years old and Mom always kept some dough aside on bread days to sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon to bake.
We also had bannock (which I also call Fry Dough), a simple bread made with flour and baking soda (sounds like Irish Soda bread!) and bannock is traditionally fried in bacon grease and served with butter and raspberry jam.
As someone else said, there is likely a traditional simple bread recipe from every culture that has it's own name.
Probably a good guess that 'breaking bread' with folks is related to this fast simple recipe.....
I found a recipie years ago for bannok made with leftover mashed potatoes and you bake over a bed of coals of course, the best thing I ever tasted, mind you fine minced onion went in as well yum
Still got the recipe?
Could I get that recipe please!
Forgot to add: bannock was introduced to us (my family) way back in the '50's, by family friends who were Cree and Ojibwa. We made it most often when camping or hunting, cuz campfire seems to add the best 'secret' ingredient to it! 🙂
Re: the cinnamon and sugar -- 'Beaver Tails' are what they're called nowadays and you can find them at many local festivals.
I definitely agree the fried bread idea (here in Canada, anyway) is a combination of Native and French culture, carried south by the Acadians in later years.
Yummy!! no matter what it's called.
I think the big difference is they are fried in fat back. Had them this morning with fish and brews( treat day ) I use fresh cod not salted for my fish and brews.This goes great with Toutons. As we say on the rock ( HAVE A TOUTON OR DO WITH OUT ONE) Depending on what part of this beautiful island you are from the saying will be pronounced different.