Toutons are small pancakes made in Newfoundland (Canada) of risen, standard white bread dough that is then fried.
To make Toutons, you start with ½ to 1 cup of cubed uncooked salt pork, which you pan fry until crisp. You remove the salt pork, keeping the fat in the frying pan — the cooking fat is what you were after.
You then take risen bread dough, roll it out to about ¼ inch (½ cm) thick (or take a piece of dough just a bit larger than a golf ball, and flatten it out with your hand.) You cut or form the dough into circles about 4 inches (10 cm) wide, and fry on both sides in the frying pan until golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes per side.
Traditionally, Toutons were made with leftover dough that wasn’t needed to fill the bread pans. Many people now buy frozen, unrisen bread dough specifically to make Toutons.
Instead of the fat from salt pork, you can use butter, margarine or flavourless cooking oil.
Toutons are traditionally served with butter and either molasses or jam.
Language Notes
Toutons is also called “washday bread.”