Traditional Bread Sauce Recipe

Bread Sauce is a British classic, going back to medieval times. It’s a white sauce in appearance and is the most delicious blob you’ll have with your Christmas dinner! A perfect accompaniment to roast poultry and game.

Previously published 2011. Republished with updated content Dec 2023.

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

What is Bread Sauce?

Just like it’s name suggests, it’s a sauce made with bread. While not quite as polarising as marmite, or even Christmas pudding, the British bread sauce is either loved or hated, no two ways about it.

It’s a dairy based sauce, flavoured with onion and spices and thickened with bread, and dates back to medieval times. There are mentions of a similar-ish sauce in cookbooks throughout history. One that comes immediately to mind is Gallantyne, from the Forme of Cury, an old book I’ve mentioned a few times on this site, by King Richard II’s mastercooks.

Cooking bread sauce creates a wonderful aroma, and if you’re doing it on Christmas Day itself, adds just another layer of that Christmas bouquet that needs to be bottled up and sold!

I absolutely love it. Its almost bland creaminess is the perfect foil to all the other highly seasoned dishes around at this time of year.

White Sauces

Bread sauce is very much like Bechamel in nature, colour and flavour. The difference is that bechamel is thickened with flour, the bread sauce is thickened with bread, both made from wheat. So really, it’s no surprise that the British bread sauce tastes just like bechamel.

Bread sauce is not the only one of its kind. There are similar sauces to be found around the world. Like onion sauce or soubise sauce. And then there’s also the Croatian topli umak od luka, which means warm onion sauce.

They all have similar purposes, to be an accompaniment to cooked meat, alongside gravy, cranberry sauce, roast potatoes and the like. And that’s exactly how our bread sauce is served on Christmas Day, as a traditional accompaniment to turkey or whatever roast you may be having. I love it and always feel like something is missing if I don’t have it on the table, whether there’s turkey going or not.

Traditional Bread Sauce Recipe

It’s a very easy recipe to make, taking just a few minutes of actual hands on time. So you could get it done on Christmas Day itself, or, like much of what I suggest in my Christmas Day Schedule, get it done the day before, then reheat and finish on the day, just before serving.

Click here to get your hands on my Christmas Schedule and print it, so you can check it off as you go.

This is what we’ll be doing:

  1. Heat the milk and infuse with the onion, bay leaf and spices for 30 minutes, or 1 hour, if you have the time.
  2. Strain and reheat the milk, adding torn up crustless pieces of bread to the milk. So you want whole white bread, not white breadcrumbs. Simmer for 15 minutes.
    Can be done to this stage, up to 3 days ahead.
  3. Stir in the cream and butter just before serving.

That’s it. See what I mean by being super easy?

milk in a grey saucepan, infused with onion and spices
infusing the milk

Ingredients

In the list below, an asterisk denotes the basic ingredients most will use. I love adding some juniper berries for the additional hit of aroma and mace blade, instead of the traditional nutmeg. But I do finish it of with a sprinkling of the latter or black pepper.

Here’s what we need:

  • white bread* – you want to pick out a quality bread, not those ready sliced, plastic tasting things in supermarkets. Any crusty, farmhouse loaves, baguette or even ciabatta will work well. A bread with character will produce better tasting bread sauce.
  • whole milk*
  • onion*
  • cloves*
  • mace blade
  • juniper berries
  • black peppercorns*
  • salt*
  • bay leaves*
  • 2 Tbsp salted butter*
  • 5 Tbsp double cream*
  • freshly grated nutmeg* – to finish

Some people will add garlic to bread sauce. I would suggest that you leave it out, because, the very principle of a bread sauce is that it’s onion flavoured.

However, if you want to make flavoured bread sauce, then I suppose the possibilities are endless. You could add other herbs like thyme, citrus peel, and the aforementioned garlic.

How to Serve Bread Sauce

Bread sauce is a traditional accompaniment to your Christmas roast. For many, this would be the traditional turkey. But it will go well with many other poultry and game roasts, like goose, duck, multi bird roasts, like the Three Bird Roast here on LinsFood or even just roast chicken.

Our family has long ditched turkey as the main meat for various reasons. Last year, we had this Three Fish Roast and this Slow Braised Lamb Shanks as the two mains. Then, I had small portions of turkey breasts (for the youngest in the extended family) and a vegan roast (for the vegetarian kids) that was shop bought.

The bread sauce still made an appearance. I loved it with the chorizo brussels sprouts!

Can you Make it Ahead?

Absolutely! Bread sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead. Just don’t add the finishing touches of cream and butter. Cool to room temperature, cover with clingfilm, letting the film touch the sauce and store in the fridge.

Reheat gently on the stove or even in the microwave oven in short bursts, with added milk, as needed. Then stir in the butter and cream and serve.

Along the same lines, leftover bread sauce can be kept and reheated in the same way, provided it hasn’t already been reheated. Use it as a sandwich spread with your leftover turkey or whatever meat you’ve got going.

Do you know what I do? I stir through some chilli sauce and use it as a sandwich spread. A-ma-zing!

What to do with the onion?

The clove-studded onion is absolutely delicious. Lose the cloves, then chop it up or slice it (with a serrated knife for a better grip) and serve it on a saucer, next to the sauce. 

Sometimes, I just quarter it and top the bread sauce with it. It disappears very quickly!

Best Bread Sauce

A few pointers here for you to make the best bread sauce for your Christmas dinner.

1. The Bread

Ditch those pre sliced mass produced breads for this traditional British white sauce. And that also means no pre processed breadcrumbs either.

Go for rustic farmhouse type bread, baguette or even ciabatta. Tear the bread up into large pieces, instead of zapping it in a food chopper to get crumbs. Large pieces of bread without the crust make better sauce with more texture.

2. Time

Allow the milk to properly infuse with all the aromatics and spices you have. Otherwise, you’re going to get a really bland sauce.

3. Season

Be sure to season your sauce well. Make sure it has enough salt, and after cooking ensure that you add enough butter and not too much cream for the best flavour.

If you enjoy the recipe, drop me a comment and let me know. And if you are feeling like a star, don’t forget that 5-star rating!😉

If you make this recipe, post it on Instagram and tag me @azlinbloor.

Lin xx

bread sauce in a Christmas bowl

Traditional Bread Sauce Recipe

Bread Sauce is a traditional British Christmas Sauce, the perfect accompaniment to any roast.
5 from 29 votes
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Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: British
Keyword: sauces
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories: 191kcal
Author: Azlin Bloor

Ingredients

  • 500 ml milk
  • 230 g white bread (about 5-6 medium slices) crustless = about 150 g/5 oz
  • 1 medium onion
  • 6 cloves
  • 1 mace blade
  • 2 juniper berries lightly crushed
  • 10 black peppercorns
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 2 fresh bay leaves or dried
  • 2 Tbsp salted butter
  • 5 Tbsp double cream
  • freshly ground black pepper or nutmeg

Instructions

  • Peel and halve the onion and stick the cloves in both halves.
    Lightly crush the juniper berries with a pestle or the back of a knife.
  • Pour the milk into a small saucepan. Add the clove-studded onion halves, juniper berries, mace blade, peppercorns, salt and bay leaves in a saucepan and bring to a strong simmer on medium-low heat. Stir lightly, just to mix everything. Don't let it boil vigorously. Keep an eye on it, as milk will suddenly just rise up and boil over.
    Reduce heat and let it simmer for 5 minutes on the lowest heat.
  • Then turn the heat off and take your pan off the hot hob. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes, for the flavours to develop.
  • Take the 2 onion halves out and reserve. Then strain the milk into a clean saucepan and bring it back to a simmer on medium-low heat.
  • Tear the crustless bread slices into about 4-6 pieces per slice while you're waiting. Do this over a plate to catch the crumbs. Stir the breadcrumbs into the milk and cook for about 15 minutes on low heat.
  • Just before serving, stir in the butter and cream. Check that there's enough salt and finish off with some freshly ground black pepper or nutmeg.
    Chop up or slice the onion (minus the cloves) and place on a saucer and serve alongside the bread sauce.

Video

Notes

Total time doesn’t include 30 minute resting time.

Nutrition

Calories: 191kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 275mg | Potassium: 177mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 439IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 165mg | Iron: 1mg
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1 thought on “Traditional Bread Sauce Recipe”

  1. 5 stars
    That bread sauce looks good and it would go well with lamb shacks, and I would try to add it to my baked veggies, I bet it would be delicious. Lovely reading this post, about different types of sauces.

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