Soft-boiled eggs, served with soldiers (buttered toast slices), are a favorite breakfast food of many. It is a nutritious breakfast that stays with you throughout the morning as well. Making the toast is the easy part. Making the egg properly is more of a challenge. With the pointers listed on this page, you can master the art of making the perfect soft-boiled egg (a soft yolk and a solid white). It is more technique than it is art, and here we give you the technique on how to make soft boiled eggs so you you can be a master.

Boiling an egg is simple, but cooking a soft boiled egg to a perfect and predictable stage of readiness you have to be a bit more exact. The total amount of time to complete the cooking is about 8-10 minutes, including the time to heat the water. Before you start, you should have eggs that are at room temperature (which helps avoid cracking). Finally, note also that the timing for this recipe is for large eggs only. If you have extra large eggs, add another minute to the simmering. See the tips section for other pointers to make a perfect soft-boiled egg.

Fill the pot with enough water to cover the eggs plus one inch. Add a teaspoon of salt and then bring the water to a gentle boil. While the water is heating up, take a needle and poke a hole in the large end of the egg, this helps steam to escape from the egg so that the shell won't crack.

Once the water reaches the gentle boil, carefully add the eggs to the pot one at a time with a slotted spoon. Once the water reaches boiling again, turn the temperature down for simmering. Start timing for 4 minutes at the point where it starts boiling again. You can make the toast for the soldiers while the water is boiling - but watch you time! Butter the toast and cut into one-inch pieces.

Remove the eggs from the boiling water after the time is up and put them in cold water. Reducing the outside temperature stops the eggs from cooking in their residual heat. Cool them a little, to the point where you can pick them up without burning your fingers. You can open up the egg by smartly whacking the side with a butter knife and then cutting off the shell, or you can bash in the top while the egg is sitting in an eggcup (with the smaller end down) and then peel off the shell. Salt and pepper to taste. Eat with soldiers, dipping into the yolk, and have a small spoon for eating the egg white.