French toast

Who would ever imagine I would have an entire blog worth of things to say about French toast? I know what you’re saying: “French Toast? Isn’t that just a piece of soft bread, soaked in eggs and milk and then cooked like an omelet.”

Not really. Not anymore at least. See, I’ve been making French toast for years, in many different variations and styles, each one is delicious, but today I will share a classic recipe of mine, with a little twist of Dadi.

There is no better way to spend a weekend morning with your loved ones eating good and simple food you’ve just cooked from scratch. A good French toast with a great cup of coffee is the way to go, at least for me and my friends.

I use a fresh soft bread for my French toast, like a good sweet challah bread, or maybe even brioche. I don’t like to use a day old bread like most recipes calls for, leave that old bread to make croutons with. This French toast will be million times better when using a good fresh bread, cut into thick slices and then soaked in a mixture of milk, eggs, cream and your own twist on the flavor (a splash of vanilla, some cinnamon and nutmeg, a hint of cocoa, etc), then fried with butter until a nice and thin crust forms on each side.

I like to serve it with lots of different condiments and let my guests choose their own toppings, like maple syrup that I infuse with lavender, rosemary or other herbs, hot chocolate fudge sauce, dulce de leche, fresh fruits, soft butter, and more.

To make this French toast a little more interesting, I create a little ”pocket” and fill this pocket with interesting ingredients like grated fresh apples with brown sugar and cinnamon, goat cheese and fresh figs, slices of a very ripe bananas and more. I cut the bread into 1 1/4 inches thick slices and then I cut each into half, but I leave the the 2 pieces attached in one end. I fill the pocket with some interesting fillings. Check below to find some of my cool sweet and savory filling recipes.

You thought all that the ingredients like the fresh bread (preferably challah), or delicious fillings, but there are a few more things you need to keep in mind if you want to have the best looking and tasting results. The pan you are using should be with a perfect thick and flat bottom to ensure an even cooking. For the same reason, you will need to cut the bread straight because if you don’t, the toast won’t be cooked evenly. Also, even though you are using butter, try to use a nonstick pan, just to be safe.

Dip the bread in the egg-milk mixture right before you are about to fry it. It’s important not to let the bread soak for too long, the bread needs to soak the liquid through but not too be long, otherwise it will turn soggy and mushy like bad oatmeal. I also recommend to use clarified butter (see recipe below), it won’t burn as fast as regular butter and you will have a nice, even color on the bread.

You should also preheat the oven to 175º F, this way you can transfer all the finished pieces of French toast to a baking sheet and keep them warm so everyone gets to eat warm French toast at the same time, together.

Clarified Butter:

It’s super easy! take 2 sticks of butter and cook in a small pot over medium-high heat. During the cooking, milk solids in the butter are separated and floats on top, and these are the ones that normally burns fast during the frying. Skim those white pieces with a spoon until all you have left is a clear yellow liquid and that is a clarified butter.

Basic French toast:

Makes about 4 to 5 French toasts

Note: for the savory filling recipes, follow the same basic recipe but do not add vanilla, orange peel, lemon peel and cinnamon stick. You also don’t need to boil the milk ahead of time as the boiling in this recipe is only used to infuse the milk with the vanilla etc.

3/4 cup whole milk
1/2 vanilla bean or 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 strips fresh orange peel
1 strip fresh lemon peel
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large whole eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 loaf fresh challah or white bread, not sliced

In a medium pot, combine together the milk, vanilla bean or extract, orange and lemon peel, cinnamon stick and salt. Cook over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and cover pot and let steep for about 30 minutes.

While milk cools down, cut bread into 1 1/4 inch slices and then create a pocket with each slice: cut each each slice in the middle, as if you were cutting in into 2 slices but leave the end attached.

When the milk is cool, strain and discard solids and then mix together with the eggs and heavy cream until well combined. This step can be done a few hours earlier or even a day before. Keep it covered and chilled until ready to use.

Fill each pocket with your desired filling (recipes for fillings bellow).

Heat clarify butter in a large non stick pan and then dip the bread in the egg-milk mixture, making sure all sides of the bread are dipped.

Fry in the hot butter, for a few minutes on each side, or until the toast is nicely browned.

Please fight the urge to press the toast, or rotate it while it’s cooking. Just let it cook on its own for a few minutes on each side, until a nice crust has formed. Fry all toast in the same manner and keep the ready toasts in the warm oven. See serving options bellow.

Apple-cinnamon filing:

2 grany smith apples, grated
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup raisins

Mix together all the ingredients and let stand at room temperature for about 5 minutes, mixing occasionally. Just before ready to assemble the toasts, squeeze out most of the liquid in the apple mixture, fill the French toast pockets and follow the instructions of the basic recipe above.

Goat cheese and fresh figs filling:

4 oz goat cheese, crumbled
3 ripe black mission figs (when figs are not in season, you could use pears, pineapple or any other fruit instead)
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Divided goat cheese between toast pockets. Cut figs (or other fruits) into thin slices and spread them on top of the cheese. Sprinkle top of figs with some of the brown sugar and follow the instructions of the basic recipe above.

Wild mushroom – goat cheese filling:

1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 cups shitakii mushroom, sliced
1 1/2 cups crimini mushrooms, sliced
1 small fresh thyme bunch
5 large fresh safe leaves
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
4 oz goat cheese, crumbled

Heat a large pan over a medium-high heat. Add butter and cook until hot but not smoky. Add mushrooms and herbs and cook until mushrooms are softened and slightly browned, about 5 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper and cool completely. Discard thyme and sage. Just before ready to assemble the toasts, fill each pocket with some of the mushrooms and then top with the goat cheese. Follow the instructions of the basic recipe above.

Sundried tomatoes – fresh mozzarella:

5 oz fresh mozzarella, cut into very thin slices
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, finely chopped
5 basil leaves, thinly sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Arrange slices of fresh mozzarella inside the pockets and sprinkle with some of the sundried tomatoes and basil leaves. Season with a little salt and black pepper and follow the instructions of the basic recipe above.

More fillings ideas:

Peanut butter and jelly, bananas, caramelized pineapple, caramelized onions, smoked salmon and finely sliced red onion, avocado, turkey breast, kalamata olives and lots more.

Serving idea:

Maple syrup or honey, Whipped cream, sliced strawberries and fresh fruits, blueberries, marmalade, cocoa powder, powdered sugar that is mixed with a little cinnamon (sprinkle the toasts right before serving).