French Toast for Pongi

[Kimmie]

Since you asked what French Toast were on a previous thread, here it is. Two recipes for you.

French Toast for Challah or Sandwich Bread

Makes 4 or 5 slices from Challah or 6 to 8 slices from Sandwich Bread

Though thick-sliced challah is best for French toast, you can substitute high-quality, presliced sandwich bread. Flipping challah is easiest with tongs, but a spatula works best with sandwich bread. To speed the cooking of large quantities of French toast, heat two or more skillets to brown a few batches at once. To vary the flavor of the batter, try adding 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon or 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg with the dry ingredients, or try substituting almond extract for the vanilla extract.

1 large egg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for frying
3/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
4–5 slices day-old challah, cut 3/4 inch thick, or 6 to 8 slices day-old sandwich bread

1. Heat 10- to 12-inch skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium heat for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, beat egg lightly in shallow pan; whisk in butter, then milk and vanilla, and finally sugar and salt, continuing to whisk until smooth. Soak bread without oversaturating, about 40 seconds per side for challah or 30 seconds per side for sandwich bread. Pick up bread and allow excess batter to drip off; repeat with remaining slices.

2. Swirl 1 tablespoon butter in hot skillet. Transfer prepared bread to skillet; cook until golden brown. Serve immediately. Continue, adding 1 tablespoon butter to skillet for each new batch.

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French Toast for firm European-Style Bread
Makes 4 or 8 slices, depending on the loaf

1 large egg
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
4–8 slices firm, day-old European-style bread, such as French or Italian, 3/4 inch thick
Unsalted butter to grease skillet (about 1 tablespoon per batch)

1. Heat 10- to 12-inch skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium heat for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, beat egg lightly in shallow pan; whisk in milk and vanilla, and then sugar and salt, continuing to whisk until smooth. Soak bread without oversaturating, about 30 seconds per side. Pick up bread and allow excess batter to drip off; repeat with remaining slices.

2. Swirl 1 tablespoon butter in hot skillet. Transfer prepared bread to skillet; cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes on first side and 1 minute and 15 seconds on the second. Serve immediately. Continue, adding 1 tablespoon butter to skillet for each new batch.

[Mezzaluna]

I forget where, but I've seen brioche and even panetone used for french toast! That could make kugelhopf a potential ingredient, I guess. But that would be gilding the lily.

[katbalou]

try pepperidge farms cinnamon swirl bread, that works great too. to me i need lots of cinnamon, just a personal preference. oh, and real maple syrup.
kat

[Isa]

It's not French toast without the real thing Kat!

Originally posted by katbalou
try pepperidge farms cinnamon swirl bread, that works great too. to me i need lots of cinnamon, just a personal preference. oh, and real maple syrup.
kat

[Pongi]

Thanks Kimmie and everybody!
It sounds really yummy, although not just dietetic (I warn you, I'll sue all of you if my cholesterol levels will raise up )
Judging by the recipe, for an "Italian-French Toast" the best thing shouldn't be Panettone, but Pandoro di Verona, which is very suitable for sweet croutons...without adding any butter since it's literally FULL of butter.
Anyway, it seems also to me that plain bread must be the best, even if, unluckily, challah is generally not available in Italy

Pongi

[kokopuffs]

Hey Pongi:

Why not make the French toast even more Italian by substituting amaretto for vanilla! Ahhh, bene bene.

The recipe I've developed calls for 1 egg per 1/3 cup of milk.

To all:

Is there some reason that a recipe specifies that the egg be beaten prior to adding milk and the other ingredients? Can everything be added all at once prior to mixing?

[Kimmie]

The recipe I've developed calls for 1 egg per 1/3 cup of milk.

Me too! It makes the mix more on the "eggy" side

I don't see why you couldn't mix all your ingredients at once; I do it all the time!

[Jock]

When I make French Toast I try to use a brioche (I make one specially sometimes if it's a special occasion) or at least a robust close crumb white bread that can hold up in the batter.
Unlike some of the other recipes suggested here, I cut the bread at least 3/4" thick and soak it until it is thoroughly saturated. I then cook it lightly in butter to a golden brown, flip them over and bake in a 325 dgree oven for about 12 - 15 minutes. The custard inside just sets up and the toast puffs up light and delicate.
As to the batter, 4 eggs to a cup of 2% milk and various flavorings depending on what I have to hand. Adding a Tbs of rum or brandy to the batter gives it an interesting twist. I like the amaretto idea
If you cut the bread a bit thicker (say an inch) then cut a pocket in it you can stuff it with a slice of peach in the summer time (or banana any time.)
A berry coulis (rasberry, strawberry, blackberry, whatever) with a dollop of whipped cream in lieu of maple syrup and you have a feast fit for a king.

Jock

[Pongi]

Pongi

[Jock]

On the question of why to beat the eggs before adding the milk, I don't know either. I can only imagine it is to make sure the egg is thoroughly beaten. You can't always see if the egg whites are properly mixed if you beat them with the milk. (Although you should be able to tell by the way it runs off the whisk.) Just a thought.

Jock

[Kimmie]

from Pongi: It sounds really yummy, although not just dietetic (I warn you, I'll sue all of you if my cholesterol levels will raise up.

Remember what Julia Child says:

«Small helpings, no seconds, no snacking...»