Toad In The Hole Recipe | Rise Every Time | Hint Of Helen (2024)

FAQs

Why has my toad in the hole get soggy bottom? ›

If your toad in the hole is soggy, it might be due to there being too many sausages in the tin. Try to make sure they're spaced far apart from each other to allow the batter to get crisp. Also, to make sure the Yorkshire pudding rises, don't be tempted to open the oven as it's cooking.

Getting your Yorkshires to rise:

Toad in the Hole needs a hot dish with plenty of oil. Using a metal baking tin and adding the batter quickly is recommended. Also, the dish needs to be large enough so that the batter can creep around the edges (at least 30cm x 25cm ideally).

Make sure you use enough oil and properly grease the roasting dish or your Toad In The Hole may stick. You need to cook Toad In The Hole in a pretty hot oven – 220C (200C fan / gas mark 7 / 425F) is just perfect.

Dishes like toad in the hole appeared in print as early as 1762, when it was described as a "vulgar" name for a "small piece of beef baked in a large pudding". Toad in the hole was originally created as a way to stretch out meat in poor households. Chefs therefore suggested using the cheapest meats in this dish.

However it is most likely that the batter isn't quite cooking properly due to the dish. Stoneware tends to heat up very slowly and doesn't give the instant hit of heat that the batter needs to help it to rise properly.

Use a metal (or enamel-coated metal) baking tin if possible – a large, reasonably deep dish is best. Using a metal tin means the tin it will get hotter and the heat distribution will be more even. Mine is a rectangular enamel roaster, approx 31cmx25cm and 5cm deep.

Why is my toad in the hole spongy? This typically occurs because you didn't cook the batter long enough or at a high enough temperature. To achieve the ideal texture, you must fully preheat your oven and ensure that the oil is hot before you pour in the batter.

Top Tips for the Best Ever Yorkshire Puddings

The batter should be the consistency of pouring cream and you should let it rest for about an hour in the fridge. Cold batter and hot oil are the successful combination for a well risen and crisp pudding.

Keep Batter Cool and Oven Hot

A successful rise will come from the combination of a cold batter going into a very hot oven. The oven should be as hot as possible—the highest setting your oven can handle (450 F to 500 F) without burning everything to a crisp.

Do you use plain or self-raising flour for the batter? Self-raising flour helps add air, which results in a light, crispy batter. If you only have plain flour at home, add a little baking powder to the batter.

What is an interesting fact about Toad in the Hole? ›

Toad in the hole has been served since the 18th century. While there is an ongoing debate as to how its name came about, it is widely accepted that the dish was developed by lower-income families as a way to get the most out of what was an expensive commodity back in the day: meat.

Toad in the hole is a traditional British dish consisting of sausages cooked in a Yorkshire pudding batter and served with an onion gravy. Toad in the hole was among the dishes served at the Leaky Cauldron in London.

Toad in the Hole is said to be known as far back as 1787 but the most famous reference is in Mrs. Beeton's Cookery Book first published in 1861. There are many old tales of where it got its name with the most popular being that the small sausages or meat bits used in years gone by resembled toads peeking out of a hole.

To save the day, Emily Lery says bring the temperature back down as quickly as you can, either by dropping in an ice cube or dipping the bottom of your cooking pan into a sink or bowl of iced water.

A layer of mucus helps keep frogs moist and makes them feel slimy. On the other hand, toads have dry, thick skin. The thickened skin of their upper body helps them retain water so they can live in drier habitats. Toads usually absorb water through the thinner skin of their bellies.