Toad in the Hole {Foolproof Recipe!} (2024)

FAQs

Why won't my toad in the hole rise? ›

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).

To stop the batter of your toad in the hole from sticking to the baking tin you need to make sure it is well oiled and the oil is smoking hot before adding the batter. Use an oil that can cook at high heat such as sunflower oil and leave it to heat up in the oven for at least 10 minutes before adding the batter.

A metal tin with fairly high sides is best because metal is a very efficient conductor of heat and getting the batter hot is essential for a good rise. You can use any oven-safe dish, but ceramic and glass dishes take longer to heat up which might affect the rise of your Yorkshire pudding.

Our answer. The batter in a toad in the hole should rise up but will be airy and crisp rather than spongy or cakey. The flour should be plain (all-purpose) flour and not self-raising. However it is most likely that the batter isn't quite cooking properly due to the dish.

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.

Add more yeast, blend in the starter, or knead in more flour to help initiate rising. Dough that has expired yeast, too much salt, all-purpose or cake flour, or antifungal spices like cinnamon might have trouble rising.

The oven should be hot – we're talking 220C/200C Fan/Gas 6. Preheating your pan and oil (as well as your oven) ensures that steam will form as soon as the batter goes into it, causing it to puff up and get that glorious rise. On a practical level, it also means that the batter is far less likely to stick to the pan.

The main idea is to put a shield (an empty baking dish) between the heat source (the bottom of the oven) and the dish you are baking. Rub the oil on the baking dish before heating it. Line the baking dish with parchment paper.

Despite popular belief, there is no record of the dish ever being made with toad. The origin of the name is unclear, but it may refer to the way toads wait for their prey in their burrows, with their heads poking out, just as sausages peep through the batter.

Serve at the table with the Toad in the hole, mashed potatoes, greens and baked beans or maybe a green salad if you're feeling a little guilty!

What do you drink with toad in the hole? ›

Pairing Toad-in-a-Hole with wines involves balancing its rich and savory flavors. Recommended wines include dry German Riesling, Saint-Émilion, Sonoma Sauvignon Blanc, and red Patrimonio from Corsica.

Once you've put it out, ideally you should eat it within 4 hours. If you allow any leftovers to cool, make sure to refrigerate in a container with a lid and chill. You can keep leftovers of Toad in the Hole in the fridge for approximately 3 days or so.

Sausage temps for toad in the hole

Sausages require the other critical temperatures for cooking toad in the hole. To get sausage that is safe to eat, it must be cooked to 160°F (71°C), so you'll need to check the doneness with your Thermapen^® ONE before you remove your dish from the oven.

It's best served right away, but you can make it ahead, or save leftovers and reheat later. Cook, then quickly cool, cover and refrigerate the toad in the hole. Place in the oven covered in foil at 180C/350F for 15-20 minutes, until the sausages are piping hot throughout.

If your batter still isn't rising well it could be that you haven't used enough oil. While you don't want your toad in the hole to be greasy, you need a certain amount of hot oil for the batter to rise.

Keep toads out by creating a barrier. Cane toads are not good climbers and quite poor jumpers. Use a barrier made of a smooth solid material, which is at least 50 cm high and secured into the ground to keep cane toads out of your yard.

A 5 gallon terrarium with a wire lid works wonderfully, but you could also use a small plastic shoebox modified with a screen mesh hole. A smaller enclosure to start will make it easier for you to monitor your toad's wearabouts, and make it easier for them to locate their food and water dish.

Difficulty in using the rear legs is probably linked to deficiency in calcium or another nutrient, but efforts to reverse it, at least in small toads, have proven unsuccessful.

One of the best ways to get rid of garden toads around your garden or landscape is to make it less attractive to toads. Generally, for toad control, if you remove their favorite hideouts and water or food sources, they will move elsewhere. For instance, toads enjoy dark, damp places.