When I was asked if I wanted to try something called ‘Breakfast en Bread’, I was intrigued. Breakfast? I love it. Bread? Yes, please. It sounded like the dream combination.
The concept hails from The Barge House restaurant in Hackney, which was founded in 2014 by Fred Defaye and Debbie Malynn. With its doors currently closed (but hopefully soon set to reopen soon), Fred and Debbie were determined to share the restaurant’s culinary creativity with the nation.
Inspired by Fred’s Parisian childhood and his father’s recipe of a Poilâne loaf filled with (vegetarians look away now…) foie gras, black pudding, white pudding, quail and wild mushrooms, Fred and Debbie decided to create their very own version, combining a full English breakfast with a French passion for bread. The result was of course – ‘Breakfast En Bread’.
I tried The Vegetarian; a circular sourdough loaf filled with slow-roasted tomato, spinach, leeks, oyster mushrooms, avocado, asparagus, and sprinkled with a generous amount of cheese.
Also in the box was a free-range egg (which you crack and grill on top of the roll at the end of cooking) and some sprigs of fresh thyme and cracked pepper.
I also tried the Mediterranean-inspired Au-Barge, which came filled with baked aubergine and aromatic tomato sauce, combined with black olives, oyster mushrooms, vegan feta, and spinach, along with some herby green sauce to drizzle on top once cooked.
Both loaves took a mere 20 minutes to cook in the oven; the perfectly proved sourdough loaf, baked by GAIL’s, came out with a deliciously satisfying crunchy crust, whilst the sourdough inside was soft and just spongy enough to soak up some of the fillings without going soggy.
Both fillings burst with flavour and the fresh ingredients really sang; the asparagus and mushroom in The Vegetarian were cooked perfectly and tasted wonderful with a piece of sourdough, some rich tomato sauce, a little zing of leek and a sweep of runny egg yolk.
The soft, creamy avocado was a genius addition, and who doesn’t love plenty of melted cheese on top?
The Au-Barge was also really tasty – the perfectly cooked aubergine and oyster mushrooms provided delicious flavour and a delightfully soft texture against the crunch of the loaf. The rich tomato sauce was cut through by the salty black olives and tanginess of the vegan feta, whilst the herby green sauce added wonderful freshness.
Also on the menu is The Original, which takes its inspiration from the full English and is filled with everything one would expect from a hearty cooked breakfast, and there’s also The Smokey Salmon, which combines locally smoked salmon with crème fraiche, spinach, slow-roasted tomatoes and leeks, with a garnish of dill, a squeeze of lemon and an egg.
If I’m honest, I had concerns that ‘Breakfast en Bread’ concept sounded like a bit of a gimmicky and might suffer on the taste front, but I was completely wrong.
The ingredients were all top quality and tasted just so - both loaves were completely delicious, as well as being brilliantly fun to cook and eat. It couldn’t have been easier to prepare, and each loaf was large enough to easily satisfy at any time of the day; it may be called ‘Breakfast en Bread’, but I would happily eat one for lunch or dinner, or anytime in between for that matter.
Prices start at £14.50 per Breakfast en Bread, with free delivery on orders over £22.00. breakfastenbread.com