The science of perfect fairy bread revealed

There’s an actual formula to making fairy bread and our food experts have cracked it. Here’s everything you need to know about our fave childhood treat.

Rebecca Nittolo

3 min read

September 11, 2023 - 5:00AM

It’s time to up your fairy bread game.

Recently, a fairy bread version of that trending butter board went viral on Australia’s Best Recipes. It was essentially a board smeared with butter and sprinkled with hundreds and thousands – yep, ICONIC.

Although people clearly loved it, lots of people took to the comments to show their outrage at the butter/sprinkles ratio in the video.

What is the magic fairy bread formula?

The video was the cause of big debate in the taste office. What IS the best way to make fairy bread? So we asked our food experts to take to the Taste Test Kitchen to figure out the ideal bread-to-butter-to-sprinkles ratio. Hundreds and thousands of 100s and 1000s later, we think our food director Amira Georgy has nailed it.

Fairy bread perfection is a science.

Although some people say that fairy bread should have the ratio of equal parts butter to sprinkles, Amira believes the perfect balance is 3:2 – that’s 3 parts sprinkles to 2 parts butter. This means for 2 slices of bread, you’d use 1 tablespoon of butter to 1.5 tablespoons (or 1/8 cup) of 100s and 1000s. Are we losing you with all these numbers? The full recipe is below!

How to make perfect fairy bread

Ingredients

2 slices soft white bread

1 tbs butter, softened

1/8 cup hundreds and thousands

Method

Spread the butter on your bread, making sure you reach the edges but don’t butter the crusts.

Sprinkle the hundreds and thousands over the top of the butter so they’re evenly distributed.

Cut your bread into triangles and serve (crusts on!)

OR… toss out that method and try the cool mess-free hack below.

The ultimate fairy bread hack

Have you ever found yourself tipping sprinkles all over the floor when trying to top your fairy bread? No more. Australia’s Best Recipes (they’re fast becoming the Aussie experts in fairy bread production!) has nailed how to get a neat and thorough layer of sprinkles without wasting too many or making a mess.

All you do is tip your 100s and 1000s into a container, then dunk the bread (buttered side down) into the sprinkles. You get a beautifully even coating, with zero mess! Watch it here:

@hungerhacks
In case you forgot how to make fairy bread 🍞 🤤 #food #foodie #foodlover #aussie #aussiethings #aussiesnacks #snacks #lunchbox #lunchboxideas #recipe #hack #kitchenhacks #kitchenhack #fairybread #fairybreadhack #fairybreadarmy
♬ original sound - Ian Asher

Can I make fairy bread a day ahead?

This is an absolute no-no. The bread won’t be soft and the colour from the 100s and 1000s will most likely run into the butter. The good news is that it only takes minutes to make fairy bread, so you can do it at the last minute.

What’s fairy bread made of?

The base of fairy bread is always soft white sliced bread. Most people spread it with butter, but some people prefer margarine (we sit firmly in #teambutter). It’s then topped with 100s and 1000s (some choose strand sprinkles but we think the ball variety is most authentic). Just don’t do what our digital director Laura did…

Why do they call it fairy bread?

Apparently fairy bread was the name originally used to describe wafer-thin crispy toast served with soup. In the 1920s, it was referred to as a party treat for kids in a Hobart newspaper and the rest is history. Although the name was most likely chosen because of its colourful appearance, some say it came from Robert Louis Stevenson’s poem Fairy Bread, where he writes of children eating fairy bread as they listen to fairy tales being told.

Why is fairy bread so popular in Australia?

Ever since it was first mentioned in a Tasmanian newspaper in 1929, fairy bread was adopted throughout Australia and New Zealand as the ultimate kids’ party dish. It’s easy to make, doesn’t cost much, only requires three ingredients and always makes children wide-eyed with

excitement.

Fairy Bread Day

Yes, it’s a thing… and it’s returning in 2023. This event (on 24 November this year) urges Aussies to get out the 100s and 1000s to raise money for youth mental health organisation ReachOut.