This traditional British bread sauce is a must-have at Christmas and is surprisingly easy to make. Its creamy richness is perfect for serving alongside festive meats such as turkey.
What is a Traditional Bread Sauce
A traditional Bread sauce is a British condiment often associated with Christmas and turkey. However, it’s also served alongside chicken on a Sunday roast. It’s typically made with breadcrumbs and spice-infused milk; some recipes call for butter, while others do not. This recipe omits the butter and relies on cream alone to add richness. I find the combination of white breadcrumbs, milk, and butter can make the sauce a little too sweet, while the cream and milk also add a rich element to the sauce at the same time.
How to Make Bread Sauce
First things first, we need to infuse the milk. Add the measured milk into a milk pan or small saucepan to do this. Peel an onion and stud it with cloves. I’ve listed a number in the recipe below, but the required amount depends on personal preference. Use less or more according to your personal tastes.
Next, add the peppercorns and bay leaves. Bring the milk to a gentle boil, then cover and remove from the heat. Set the milk aside to infuse for around 2 hours, then strain it and return it to the heat.
It’s important to heat the milk gently, or the bottom of the pan may start to catch, resulting in a burnt taste. Add the breadcrumbs and stir. Cook for 10-15 minutes until the breadcrumbs swell and the sauce thickens. Finish with the cream and freshly- grated nutmeg to taste. Don’t forget to add salt to taste.
How to Make Fresh Breadcrumbs
This recipe calls for 120g breadcrumbs, which are easy to make at home. Ideally, you’ll need a few slices of stale bread, as stale bread tends to be quite dry. However, you can use fresh bread, left out for a few hours so it dries, or even use fresh bread as it is. If you were to use fresh bread, you would need to sacrifice the fine texture of stale bread as you won’t be able to blitz it for as long.
Cut the crusts from the bread and discard. The crusts are firmer and often refuse to break apart in a blender. Plus, they leave the white sauce with speckles of brown. Place the bread into a food processor and blitz until the bread resembles crumbs, then use as required by your recipe. In this case, use it for a traditional bread sauce.
Traditional Bread Sauce
Equipment
- 1 Milk Pan
Ingredients
- 500 ml Whole Milk
- 1 Onion Studded with 12-16 Cloves
- 2 Bay Leaf
- 10 Peppercorns
- 120 g Fresh Breadcrumbs
- 50 ml Double Cream
- Freshly Grated Nutmeg to taste
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Stud the onion with the cloves. Add the clove-studded onion, peppercorns, and bay leaves to the milk in a small pan.
- Bring to a boil, then cover the milk and remove fron tge heat. Allow the milk to infuse for 2 hours.
- Strain the milk to remove the spices, then return it to the heat. Add the breadcrumbs and cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes until the breadcrumbs swell and the sauce thickens.
- Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the cream.
- Season to taste with salt and freshly grated nutmeg, then serve.
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