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Gill Meller’s bread sauce

Name: Gill Meller’s bread sauce
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: Serves 8
Cuisine: British recipes
Ingredients: 1 medium onion; 10-12 whole cloves; 2 bay leaves; 3-4 thyme sprigs; ½ tsp black peppercorns; 550ml whole milk; 125g fresh white breadcrumbs; 50g unsalted butter; 50ml double cream

By: Gill Meller

Published: 8 Dec 21
Updated: 12 Mar 25

Gill Meller shares his recipe for classic bread sauce. This velvety sauce is made with double cream and is delicious with Christmas turkey or roast chicken.

Add roast chicken and a big bowl of our best-ever fluffy roast potatoes, and you’ve got the makings of an epic Sunday lunch.

Easy
December 2021

Test kitchen approved

Serves 8
Hands-on time 15 min, plus 1-2 hours infusing

Gill Meller shares his recipe for classic bread sauce. This velvety sauce is made with double cream and is delicious with Christmas turkey or roast chicken.

Add roast chicken and a big bowl of our best-ever fluffy roast potatoes, and you’ve got the makings of an epic Sunday lunch.

Vegetarian

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 178kcals
Fat: 11.3g (6.9g saturated)
Protein: 4.1g
Carbohydrates: 14.8g 3.9g sugars)
Fibre: 0g
Salt: 0.2g

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Ingredients

1 medium onion
10-12 whole cloves
2 bay leaves
3-4 thyme sprigs
½ tsp black peppercorns
550ml whole milk
125g fresh white breadcrumbs
50g unsalted butter
50ml double cream

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Method

Peel the onion, cut into quarters and put in a pan with the cloves, bay, thyme and peppercorns. Pour over the milk and set over a gentle heat. Bring to a very gentle simmer and cook for a minute or so. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool and infuse.
After an hour or two, strain the milk through a fine sieve into a clean a pan, then set it back over the heat. Add the breadcrumbs and stir well. Cook the sauce over a very low heat until it’s relatively smooth and nice and thick. Stir in the butter and cream, then season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve hot with the roast turkey (it’s wonderful with chicken, too).