Prženice is one of those dishes/foods that is never truly planned out. It always results from buying too much bread and needing to use it up after about the 2nd or 3rd day. These days, because we are a 2 person household and the bread we love only comes in a giant sliced loaf, prženice are often on our menu, usually on the weekends.
What used to be considered a somewhat humble meal, is now found on Balkan restaurant menus all over the world. It makes me wonder if other Balkan people like me yearn for those childhood memories as much as I do.
Prženice only require a few ingredients and are very quick to make. Sweet French Toast is a little bit more ingredient heavy, but this savory Balkan version only requires a few. This quick dish (if you an call it a dish) is comforting, quick, easy, and most of all delicious. So don’t throw away that day-old bread next time, instead make this Balkan staple.
Prženice / Savory French Toast
Course: MainCuisine: Serbian, Balkan4
servings5
minutes15
minutesA Balkan staple, this quick and easy take on French Toast won’t have you missing the sweet version at all. Pass the kajmak, please!
Ingredients
6-7 bread slices ( I prefer sourdough)
5 large eggs
1-2 cups (250-500 ml) oil (I use sunflower)
1 teaspoon (6 g) salt
Directions
- In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and salt very well.
- In a non-stick skillet, heat the oil on medium heat until hot. You can tell if the oil is ready by swirling it around the pan. If it’s ready, it will flow smoothly like water and quickly coat the bottom of the pan. It will also sizzle if you drop a bit of egg in the oil and will immediately begin to cook it.
The amount of oil you will need depends on the size of your skillet. My 12 in skillet usually requires about 1 cup of oil. Also, as you cook the Prženice, you may need to add additional oil to the pan as they do soak some of it up while cooking. - When the oil is ready, briefly submerge a slice of bread into the egg mixture, flipping it to make sure both sides are covered. Let the bread sit in the egg mixture only a few seconds. Let the excess liquid drain, and then transfer to the skillet. Fry the bread for about 5-6 minutes, flipping it until the bread is nice and brown on both sides and the egg is cooked.
- Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and drain the excess oil. Repeat this step until all ingrediants are used up.
- Serve warm or room temperature.
Notes
- Serve Prženice with kajmak, ajvar, or cheese. I like mine with Nutella sometimes 🙂
Let me know how your Prženice turn out, send me a DM on Instagram or use the hashtag #thebalkanhostess!
Happy Cooking!
I still make this all the time! My family is from Croatia and as a little girl I would have savory French toast with leftover bakery bread. My family would put a little salt, pepper and milk in with the egg and serve it with sour cream. I do it the same way to this day. I love all your recipes. They remind me so much of my childhood.