Toutons

I had never heard of toutons (pronounced “towt – ens”) before I moved here. But now look at me – I’m making them!

Toutons are essentially fried bread dough, and they taste sort of like a cross between a pancake and a doughnut. They are a traditional breakfast favourite of Newfoundlanders, usually served with butter and molasses; we used maple syrup instead.

I didn’t make the dough; it was given to me by Christine of Christine’s Bakery in neighbouring Musgravetown. Calling itself “The Little Bakery in the Woods”, it’s almost hidden on a well-treed residential street with no signage until you are right in front of it. We were just exploring the area when we happened upon it. Christine asked if I had ever had toutons, and when I said no, she gave me a bag of dough with verbal instructions on how to prepare it. It’s really simple – tear off some dough, flatten it, and fry in a small amount of oil, butter, or a combination of the two – pork fat is no longer essential.

As you might expect, there are many different names for toutons. “Tiffin” is the most frequent variant, but Wikipedia provides a long list:

• bang belly (also refers to various types of baked buns/puddings)
• cushions (Western Newfoundland)
• damper dogs (St. John’s. 1960s)
• damper devils (possibly St. John’s)
• dicky dough (Trinity Bay)
• dunkie doughs (Random Island. 1980s-90s)
• fan-titties (Jackson’s Arm. 1970s)
• flacoons (Freshwater, Placentia Bay. 1970s. Possibly from Old French flacon – “bottle” – used to roll out dough)
• flackers (Stephenville Crossing)
• flapjacks (Fortune Harbour. 1960s. Also refers to a more traditional pancake.)
• flats (Bonavista, possibly.)
• flitters (Lumsden, also Great Northern Peninsula, particularly in the Straits. Most likely a corruption of “fritters.”)
• flummy/flummies (Northwest River, Labrador. 1960s. More like a bread cooked on top of a stove, often made by trappers).
• freezie (Central Newfoundland)
• fried dough (Red Bay)
• frozie (Calvert; Bishop’s Falls; Bonavista Bay; southern Labrador. Can also refer to a molasses pork cake, or even a deep fried touton.)
• gandies (Fischells; St. George’s; Stephenville. 1950s.)
• gangees (Point Leamington)
• luski/luskinikn (traditional Mi’kmaq. Possibly more of a bannock. Word is “literally ‘four cents’ – because it costs so little to make.”)
• pan cakes or pan bread (Cartwright)
• panitsiak (Nunatsiavut. Possibly more of a bannock. Also mappa cake, mukmuk cake, and sunamajuk.)
• pooies (Bay Roberts)
• posies (Northern Bay. 1940s/50s)
• puffy-ups (Possibly Bonavista)
• scons (Miawpukek. circa 1987; also Wesleyville)
• stove cakes (L’anse au Diable, Labrador. 1970s.)
• tommy’s/tommies (Hooping Harbour; Harbour Deep. mid 20th-century, 1970s.)
• touten (Elliston. 1960s.)
• toutins (North River, Conception Bay. 1960s)
• toutons with holes in them (Point Leamington, Fortune Harbour)
• towtents (pork cakes. 1890s.)
• tushin
• zachingles/sachingiels (Cape St. George / Mainland)

I think I like puffy-ups best, with bang belly a close second. There’s a great restaurant on Fogo Island called Bang Belly; I assume they serve toutons, although I don’t remember seeing them on the menu. I may have been distracted by their Fogo Pride information and ocean views.

Now that I am making all our bread from scratch, I will put some of the dough aside for toutons. Eating fried dough is easier to justify when it’s also a way of demonstrating cultural pride!