Baked Eggs with Pullet Eggs

A baked egg.

I received some beautiful little pullet eggs from our CSA (community supported agriculture) and I wanted to do something special with them. It isn't every day that you get pullet eggs. What are they? Well, they are small eggs that are laid by chickens that are less than one year old. They are so small and so cute.

The pullet egg is on the left and the large eggs is on the right.

It took me a couple of days to figure out what to do with them. I decided I wanted baked eggs. I thought baked eggs would appropriately showcase the petite eggs. The last time I made baked eggs I had a terrible time cleaning the ramekins; so, I decided to make a version of toad in the hole. I had some lovely bakery hamburger buns and used them as my edible ramekins. If I was using large eggs, I would need to use large hamburger buns or maybe dinner rolls. As it turns out the hamburger buns were just the right size. I am on a Herbes de Provence kick so that's what I used but I usually use a sprinkling of fresh chopped herbs. For a healthier version, use whole wheat buns, fat-free half and half, and egg whites.

Baked Toad in the Hole

Butter or Margarine
Hamburger Bun (One to two per person)
Eggs (One per bun)
Cream or Half and Half
Herbes de Provence or Fresh Herbs, Chopped
Salt and Pepper, To Taste

Preheat your oven to 350F/176C/Gas Mark 4. Grease a cookie sheet (you don't want the buns to stick to the cookie sheet and they will because some of the cream is likely to escape). Carefully remove the center of the bun without breaking though the bottom. Butter the inside of the bun and place on the cookie tray. Repeat until all of the buns are buttered and on the tray.

Hollowed out buttered buns

One at a time, break the eggs into a bowl and pour into the center of each bun.

Pouring the egg into the center of the bun- it just fits.

Top off with a bit of cream. Sprinkle with the herbs and salt and pepper.

Ready for the oven

Bake for 15-25 minutes (depending on whether you want a hard or runny yolk. For those who want a runny yolk, test to see if the white is set and take the eggs out of the oven. For those of you (like me) who can't stand runny eggs, jiggle the bun and if the yolks don't move you are set. For me, twenty-five minutes of baking resulted in perfectly cooked eggs.

Yummy!

The bottom line: will I make these agan?  Yes, I enjoyed these. I love the fact that I did not need to watch the eggs or worry over them. I was able to sit back, relax, and enjoy my morning coffee. Afterwards I had very few dishes to wash (well, for Katie to wash). Next time I may place some chopped tomato on the bottom or creamed spinach. The possibilities are endless.