Nothing Says Fall Like French Toast

Okay. I just made that up. But, it kind of does say Fall, or at least the weekend.

Sometimes, you find yourself with a loaf of homemade bread that is starting to lose its freshness. Or sometimes, you just feel like something a little more exciting for breakfast. Either way, French Toast is definitely the answer.

I love baking bread, but I usually don’t eat it up fast enough to keep it from going bad, and if there’s one thing I hate, it’s good bread gone bad. (Insert dirty look with raised eyebrow). The picture above is a Basic French Loaf. I think I probably posted about it before, but I am a little too lazy to go look for the post to link it. Anyway, if you would like to try baking it yourself, here is the recipe. It is one of the best recipes for beginning bread makers because it doesn’t require a lot of kneading or special steps, but it’s also great for more advanced bakers because it is really pleasant. If you are new to baking bread, pay really close attention to the temperatures when they are telling you to heat liquid before adding yeast. Yeast has a low heat tolerance and will die really quickly if your liquid is too hot. Trust me on that one.

So, I had this loaf sitting on my counter, and I had an amazing idea. I could make French Toast. Better yet, I could make French Toast and then post a how to on the blog. It was a miracle. Normally, I have bright ideas but then forget to take pictures so that I blog about it. Not exactly a recipe for blogging success. For once, though, I remembered about posting before I started. The result….

A Step by step guide to French Toast.

Okay. You are going to need some stuff.

• Bread. For this one, I used a basic French Bread. Day old baguettes work great for French Toast, but in a pinch, even normal store-bought bread will work. Personally, if I am going to buy store bought bread, I prefer the artisan kind from the bakery section. A drier, firmer bread works better than the soft spongy types, but even those will work.
• Eggs. How many eggs you use depends on how much toast you are making. I usually use 2 or 3 if it is just me because I scramble the left overs to each with my toast.
• Milk. I usually just use plain old dairy milk, but you could probably substitute this for non-dairy if you need to.
• Toppings. I usual go with the standard powdered sugar sprinkled on top, but some people prefer syrup or even jam. This is kind of just a personal preference thing.

How do you do it? Good question. Here’s what you do:

1. First, you slice the bread if it isn’t sliced already. I make mine a little thicker than a sandwich slice but not super thick. Somewhere around half an inch or slightly more seems to work well. If I am using baguettes, I usually slice it a little thicker.
2. Next you put the eggs into a flat dish or container of some kind that is big enough for your bread to lay flat in so that you can soak the bread. You lightly whisk the eggs so that the yolks are broken. I use a fork. Then you add milk just until it is a little creamy. You don’t have to use much. I don’t actually measure, I just pour a little in. Then whisk the eggs and milk until kind of smooth.
3. Soak your first piece(s) of bread in the egg mixture while you heat your pan.
4. When the pan is hot, add a little bit of butter (or a tiny bit of neutral oil like avocado) and add the first piece(s) of bread. While the first batch is cooking, soak the next slice(s) of bread.
5. Cook the toast on the first side until the egg that has squished out from the bottom looks like it is ready to turn. It should start to get white and opaque. Once that seems done, flip it and cook it on the other side. Do this in batches until all of the toast is done.
6. Remove from pan and put directly onto the individual plates. Immediately top with desired toppings.
7. Once the bread has cooked, scramble the remaining egg mixture. This can be served to anyone who wants it.

Here’s a progression in pictures.

I used milk, but if you want it to be really rich, you can use half and half.

Add just enough milk to the eggs that it looks a little creamy.

Slice your bread to the desired thickness.

Soak it in the egg mixture. Make sure to turn it over so that both sides are wet.

Cook in the pan on both sides. Egg mixture will spill out. That’s okay.

I prefer powdered sugar, but syrup or jam (like this blueberry jam) are also options for topping.

And that’s it. Your French Toast is finished. Much easier than the name suggests, and well worth the effort. This is a great way to impress company, but there’s no need to invite people over unnecessarily just to make it. It works great just because as well.

Happy eating. (And happy exercising afterwards).