Hungarian Egg-Fried Bread (Bundás kenyér)

Name: Hungarian Egg-Fried Bread (Bundás kenyér)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: Hungary
Ingredients: 8 thick slices (about 1/2 inch / 1.5 cm) day-old white country bread, roughly 10 oz (280 g); 4 large eggs; 3 tbsp (45 ml) whole milk; 1/2 tsp (3 g) salt; 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper; 5 tbsp (75 ml) sunflower oil, for frying; 1 small clove garlic, halved (optional); Flaky salt, ketchup or mustard, to serve

Bundás kenyér Say it: BOON-dahsh KEH-nyehr

By the Passport Plate editors. Published November 4, 2026.

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Bundás kenyér — literally 'coated bread' — is Hungary's savoury cousin of French toast. Slices of day-old white bread are dipped in salted beaten egg and fried in a hot pan until puffed and golden. It appears at breakfast, on the light evening supper table and as a fast after-school snack, rubbed with garlic and sprinkled with salt or with a squirt of ketchup. Crisp at the edges, soft and eggy inside, it takes minutes and costs almost nothing.

Hungarian Egg-Fried Bread (Bundás kenyér)

Bundás kenyér

Pronounced BOON-dahsh KEH-nyehr

Serves: 4
Prep: 10 min
Cook: 15 min
Total: 25 min
Level: Easy

Vegetarian

Also nut-free.

Allergens: contains gluten, milk, egg. Check labels on packaged ingredients.

Ingredients

4 servings

For the bread

8 thick slices (about 1/2 inch / 1.5 cm) day-old white country bread, roughly 10 oz (280 g)
4 large eggs
3 tbsp (45 ml)45 ml (3 tbsp) whole milk
1/2 tsp (3 g)3 g (1/2 tsp) salt
1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
5 tbsp (75 ml)75 ml (5 tbsp) sunflower oil, for frying

To serve

1 small clove garlic, halved (optional)
Flaky salt, ketchup or mustard, to serve

Method

Beat the eggs in a wide shallow bowl with the milk, salt and pepper until completely smooth, with no streaks of white left.
Heat the oil in a large heavy frying pan over medium heat. Test it by dropping in a teaspoon of the egg mixture — it should sizzle gently and puff at once, not brown instantly.
Lay a slice of bread in the egg and let it soak for about 10 seconds, then turn it and soak the other side for another 10 seconds. Lift it and let the excess drip back into the bowl.
Fry 2 or 3 slices at a time, leaving space between them, for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until deep golden and crisp at the edges and the centre feels set when pressed.
Lift the slices onto a plate lined with paper towels and keep them warm while you dip and fry the rest, adding a little more oil if the pan looks dry.
While the bread is still hot, rub one side of each slice once with the cut garlic clove, then sprinkle with flaky salt and serve straight away with ketchup or mustard.

Regional variant: Sweet egg-fried bread (Édes bundás kenyér)

Leave out the pepper and skip the garlic. Beat 2 tbsp (25 g) sugar and a pinch of ground cinnamon into the egg mixture instead of salt, dip and fry the bread the same way in sunflower oil, and serve hot dusted with more sugar, with a spoon of apricot or plum jam, or a drizzle of honey.

Cook's notes

Day-old or slightly dry bread is best: fresh bread drinks too much egg and falls apart in the pan.
Keep the heat at medium — hot enough to crisp the egg, gentle enough that it sets through before the crust burns.
Do not soak the slices for longer than about 10 seconds a side, or they turn heavy and soggy in the middle.

Serve with

Sprinkled with salt and rubbed with garlic, or with ketchup and mustard, alongside a glass of milk or tea.

Make ahead and storage

Best eaten straight from the pan; cooled slices reheat in a minute a side in a dry frying pan.

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