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!
Looking for more Newfoundland-inspired cuisine?
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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.
I use the dough already made from the grocery store to make my 'toutons'. As close as I can get to the ones mom would make, since I don't know how to make homemade style Newfie bread.
There's a great recipe for homemade white bread on this site!
Grew up on these south on the shore of NS we called them Pollywogs they are in just about every culture have found names such as leplushski, and Fanikaneekins... I still make them... sometimes if I make raisin or molasses bread I use that dough also ....
"Fried Dough" - Ours were fried in bacon drippings and we put honey or cheez whiz on them
or had them plain. I always thought they were best done on a wood stove! I grew up on the prairies. My ancestry is German.
Looking at this dish, I wish someone from that area to provide the awesome white bread recipe, please. Canadian bread is just great and my son's grandmother made it but I never got a chance to get her recipe before she passed.
The recipe link is there.
By any other name...A rose is a rose,is a rose,is a rose...! Not for sure where my dad's mother came from, but I believe it was somewhere in Canada. My mother from East St Louis, MO, and my dad from Iowa. My mother and grandmother made homemade bread from as far back as I can remember, (I'm 76) and for a very long time before that. They made fried bread every time they made bread. We called them "Dough Gobs", because you pinched off a small ball of dough, flattened it out and fried it. It was perfect with a pot of beans! As dessert, mom would shake some of them up while hot in granulated sugar. In the late 1970's I started making homemade bread while working in the fire dept. I mad dough gobs for the other firemen, course I never ate any! and I found that the best way to serve them was with a homemade glaze made with a bowl full, 1 Box, powdered sugar and a TBSP or so of milk, and a few drops of maple flavoring. Make a stiff mixture so it will stick to the dough gob when you spread it on. Also can mix some peanut butter or other flavorings into it, They were always eaten as fast as they came out of the skillet.
Beavertails were invented in Ottawa either in centenial. Year or slightly there after.
The company was in the news this morning donating four heated stall locations to the BywardbMarket.
Well documented that the Navajo cooked something similar in the 1860's
When I was growing up in the Pacific Northwest of BC in the 1960's my Mom used to fry pieces of leftover bread dough in a frying pan. We'd eat them hot with butter and jam. We called them Dough Farts because they'd rise as they were cooking and then the air would escape. I had never heard of Toutons until I visited Newfoundland for the first time in 2015. When I ate them they were just like the Dough Farts of my childhood. We have no Newfoundland ancestry or connections.
Toutons were called Gandhi's in my family in Corner Brook. Named by my Dad and Uncle after Mahatma Gandhi who lived on water and fried bread during his many hunger strikes against British rule.
Also, while living in Toronto in the Greek district, we found them any week-end in the parks at Greek family outings. They cooked them in wok like pans in a little deeper fat than tradition in Newfoundland.
As a point of information, St Lucia has been serving up touton’s for breakfast as well, only they call them Johnny Cakes .
My mom use to make something like this when we were kids except she did it this way- when the bread had risen and Just before punching it down to shape into loaves she would slice off pieces of dough, not to thick, and fry them in butter with a little oil, they would puff up nicely.Then we would eat them warm with butter and homemade strawberry jam. They were so good. Even when I made bread my children would request them because they had them at grandma’s. I look forward to doing the egg benedict recipe, I’m sure it’s going to be delicious. We also called them Flap Jacks! Thanks!
Barry How ya doin' by!
Do you know if I can do these in the air fryer?
Any clue on the temp and time?
I really don't think that would work.
Thanks!
By the Jesus bye, why have I never heard of these things!!?? Breakfast it is! I don't have the traditional porkback fat but I do use bacon fat often. Lets throw on some fried bologna, an egg and a side a baked beans. Thanks!!!
We have these in South Africa. The Afrikaaners (Dutch/French) make them and they are called vetkoeks (fat cakes). They are usually eaten with jam and butter or with a savoury (or curry) mince fillign. My mother used to make them for breakfast.sometimes.
HI
My mother used to make fried bread dough once the bread had its first rise. She just grabbed a hunk of bread and fried it in butter. She called them FRIGGS. Delicious with mollasses. Today if I make bread make sure i make a few. Really nice cut in half and toasted to make a sandwich. Im from PEI