Ingredients

• 4 brioche buns
• 8 rashers smoked streaky baconsmoked streaky; the fat is what carries the glaze
• 4 large eggs
• 4 slices mature cheddar or 100 g grated cheddar
• 15 g butter

Glaze

• 35 ml maple syrup
• 1 tsp chilli flakes or 1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt

Method

1. 01

   Start the bacon

   Heat the oven to 200 C / 180 C fan. Lay the bacon rashers flat on a foil-lined tray, without overlapping, and bake for 15-20 minutes until the fat has rendered and the edges are beginning to crisp.

   8 rashers smoked streaky bacon

2. 02

   Mix the glaze

   Whisk the maple syrup, chilli flakes, 1 tsp Dijon, cider vinegar and the pinch of salt together. The mustard and vinegar are what stop this tasting like sweet bacon.

   35 ml maple syrup · 1 tsp chilli flakes or 1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper · 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

3. 03

   Glaze at the very end

   Brush the glaze generously over the bacon and return it to the oven for a final 3-4 minutes, until lacquered and glossy. Watch it closely. Maple syrup goes from shining to burnt in about a minute. Lift onto a rack rather than paper, or the glaze will stick.

   Glaze in the last four minutesMaple burns long before bacon crisps. Cook it nearly through, then lacquer.

   Rest it on a rackGlazed bacon welds itself to kitchen paper and you lose half the glaze.

4. 04

   Toast the buns

   Split the brioche buns, spread the cut faces lightly with the butter and toast them cut side down in a dry frying pan over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, until golden. Toasted brioche holds up to a runny yolk; untoasted brioche turns to paste.

   4 brioche buns · 15 g butter

   Toast the cut facesA bun under a fried egg has minutes to live unless it is sealed with heat and butter.

5. 05

   Melt the cheese

   Lay the cheddar on the hot bun bases straight off the pan and leave it to soften in the residual heat, or give it 30 seconds under a hot grill if your buns have cooled.

   4 brioche buns

6. 06

   Fry the eggs

   Fry the eggs in a non-stick pan over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, until the whites are set through and the yolks still move when you tilt the pan.

   4 large eggs

7. 07

   Build

   Pile two rashers of glazed bacon onto each cheesy base, slide an egg on top, and press the lid on gently so the yolk stays intact until the first bite.