Gyeran ppang, a beloved Korean egg bread, is a popular street food that has captured hearts in Seoul and around the world. Recently, CNN named it one of the world’s 50 best breads, recognizing its unique qualities, a soft, slightly sweet loaf with a whole egg baked inside. In this post, you’ll learn the history of Gyeran Ppang, why it’s so popular, and most importantly, how to make this comforting Korean treat at home with an easy step-by-step recipe.
Table of Contents
What is Gyeran Ppang? (Korean Egg Bread)
Gyeran Ppang is one of Korea’s most popular traditional street foods. It is characterized by a sweet bread batter with a whole egg baked inside. The batter is similar to pancake batter, giving the bread a soft and fluffy texture.
Why CNN Named It One of the World’s 50 Best Breads
CNN described Gyeran Ppang as a popular street food in Seoul, Korea that can be enjoyed warm for breakfast or any time of the day. The article also mentioned that adding ham, cheese, and chopped parsley enhances its sweet and savory flavor, making it a comforting snack that keeps people warm during Korea’s cold winters.
In addition to Gyeran Ppang, CNN’s list of the world’s 50 best breads also includes Germany’s pretzel, America’s biscuits, Japan’s curry pan, and Italy’s focaccia.
Popular Variations of Korean Egg Bread
In today’s recipe, I kept it simple with just egg and cheese toppings, but in Korea, people often add sliced ham or bacon for extra flavor. Some even add tomato sauce to make it taste like a mini pizza bread.
Ingredients for Gyeran Ppang
Bread Batter Ingredients
In Korea, most people don’t make the bread batter from scratch. Instead, they use ready-made pancake mix, which makes it super easy to prepare. However, since Korean-style pancake mix can be hard to find abroad, I’ve made a simple recipe you can easily recreate at home using regular flour. This recipe makes two small loaf-sized Gyeran Ppang.
- Cake flour – 80g
- Sugar – 30g
- Baking powder – 2g
- Salt – 1g
- Egg (room temperature) – 1
- Milk (room temperature) – 80mL
- Unsalted butter – 70g
- Vanilla extract – 5mL (optional)
Tip for success
Make sure the egg and milk are at room temperature. This prevents the batter from separating and helps achieve a soft and fluffy texture. If the milk is cold, warm it slightly in the microwave for about 20 seconds before using.
Topping Ingredients
I prepared the most basic version of the Gyeran Ppang recipe, but you can add extra toppings like ham or tomato sauce if you like.
- Eggs – 4 (for topping)
- Shredded mozzarella cheese – about 1 tablespoon per egg bread
- Salt – a pinch per egg bread
Kitchen Tools You’ll Need
Egg bread mold
In Korea, gyeran ppang is usually baked in a flat, round-shaped mold made specifically for egg bread.
Muffin tin
However, it’s not easy to find an egg bread mold outside of Korea. A deep muffin tin works just as well. If your muffin tin is too shallow, the batter won’t have enough space to hold the egg properly.
Mini loaf pan
You can also use a small loaf pan. That’s what I used today because its height and width are the most similar to a traditional Korean egg bread mold.
Oven or air fryer
You’ll need either an oven or an air fryer to bake the egg bread. In Korea, many people don’t have ovens at home, so they often use air fryers instead. I used a Samsung model that has both oven and air fryer functions, and I baked mine using the oven setting.
Step-by-Step Gyeran Ppang Recipe
Preparing the Batter
- Beat 1 egg with a whisk until smooth.
- Melt the unsalted butter in the microwave (about 40 seconds). Add the melted butter, vanilla extract (if using), and room-temperature milk to the beaten egg. Mix well with a whisk.
- Add sugar and salt, and whisk until fully dissolved.
Tips for Perfect Texture
- Sift the flour and baking powder into the mixture. This prevents lumps and creates a smooth batter.
- Gently fold with a whisk until no dry flour remains. Do not overmix, or the bread will turn dense. Tap the mixing bowl gently to remove air bubbles from the batter.
Adding the Batter and Toppings
- Grease the loaf pans with melted butter or oil.
- Pour the batter into the loaf pans, filling about one-third of the pan’s height.
- Crack two eggs on top of the batter. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and add 1 tablespoon of shredded mozzarella cheese on each.
Baking in the Oven
- Bake in the oven or air fryer at 170°C (340°F) for about 25 minutes. Since the temperature and baking time can vary depending on your appliance, adjust as needed for the best result.
Other Korean Bread Recipes
Korean Salt Bread
Salt bread is currently one of the most beloved breads in Korea. It originally came from Japan and looks similar to a croissant, but the texture is completely different. The outside is crisp while the inside is chewy, creating the perfect balance with the rich buttery flavor and a hint of saltiness.
Making this bread at home is quite challenging because everything—moisture, temperature, and dough texture—must be just right. So I’ve created an easier version using dinner rolls that still captures about 80% of the original flavor. Many Koreans make this at home when they have leftover dinner rolls.
Korean Pizza Ppang
In Korea, there’s a popular bakery item called pizza ppang. It’s not quite a pizza, but a soft bread topped with sausage, corn, sweet mayo, ketchup, and cheese. The result tastes just like the classic pizza bread you’d find at Paris Baguette in Korea. This recipe is an easy way to recreate that nostalgic Korean bakery flavor at home.
FAQs About Gyeran Ppang
What is Korean egg bread?
Korean egg bread, or Gyeran Ppang, is a popular street food in Korea made with a soft, slightly sweet batter and a whole egg baked inside. CNN selected Gyeran Ppang as one of the world’s 50 best breads, recognizing it as a comforting treat that can be topped with ham, cheese, or parsley for extra flavor. In this post, you’ll also find an easy homemade recipe to make this delicious Korean bread right in your own kitchen.
Can I make Gyeran Ppang without a loaf pan?
Yes! You can use a deep muffin tin or a small loaf pan instead. Just make sure the pan is deep enough to hold both the batter and the egg.
Can I use all-purpose flour inste
ad of cake flour?
It’s best to use cake flour for this recipe. All-purpose flour can make the bread denser and less soft, while cake flour gives it the light, fluffy texture that Korean egg bread is known for.
Gyeran Ppang (Korean Egg Bread): CNN 50 Best Breads
Ingredients
- 80 g cake flour
- 30 g sugar
- 2 g baking powder
- 1 g salt
- 1 egg (room temperature)
- 80 ml milk (room temperature)
- 70 g unsalted butter
- 5 ml vanilla extract (optional)
- 4 eggs (2 eggs for each egg bread)
- 2 tbsp shred mozzarella cheese (1tbsp for each egg bread)
- 2 pinches salt (1 pinch for each egg bread)
Equipment
- 2 small loaf pans (substitutions on blog)
- 1 Whisk
- 1 sieve
- 1 Mixing bowl
Method
- Grease the loaf pans with melted butter or oil.
- Beat 1 egg with a whisk until smooth.
- Melt the unsalted butter in the microwave (about 40 seconds). Add the melted butter, vanilla extract (if using), and room-temperature milk to the beaten egg. Mix well with the whisk. Add sugar and salt, whisk until fully dissolved.
- Sift the flour and baking powder into the mixture. Gently fold with a whisk until no dry flour remains. Do not overmix – the bread will become dense.
- Tap the mixing bowl gently to remove air bubbles from the batter.
- Pour the batter into the loaf pans, filling about 1/3 of the pan height.
- Crack two eggs on top of the batter.
- Sprinkle a pinch of salt and add 1 tablespoon of mozzarella cheese.
- Bake in the oven or air fryer at 170°C for 25 minutes. Temperatures may vary depending on your device, so adjust according to your appliance.
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!
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