Cookbook:French Toast
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| French Toast | |
|---|---|
| Category: | Breakfast recipes |
| Servings: | 1 person |
| Time: | ~10 minutes |
| Difficulty: |  |
Cookbook | Recipes | Vegetarian | Breakfast
French toast (or "poor knights") is a common breakfast item made by frying an egg batter soaked piece of bread. French toast was developed as a way to use day-old stale bread. Lacking day-old bread, toasting your bread lightly can help it absorb more of the egg and milk batter.
French toast is usually served with toppings similar to those used for pancakes, waffles, and toast. Suggested toppings are:
- real maple syrup, table syrup
- jam, jelly, fruit syrup
- whipped cream
- powdered sugar
- nuts
- honey (as served in China)
- bacon
- raspberries and/or strawberries and/or blueberries
This recipe is easily scalable. The simplest thing is to memorize the recipe for two slices (1 serving), and then multiply to make more. You can coat 2.25 to 2.5 slices from this, or perhaps less than two if the bread slices are large.
[edit] Ingredients
- 1 egg for every 2 slices of bread
- approximately 1/4 cup (60ml) milk (more for softer, less egg-like French toast; less for firmer, more egg-like toast)
- 2 slices bread (I cut 1" thick slices of French bread)
- butter (best), margarine, or oil
Optional:
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or similar extract
- 1/4 - 1 teaspoon nutmeg, cinnamon or other powdered spice suitable for sweet items
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Makes roughly 2 slices of French toast.
[edit] Procedure
- In a bowl mix eggs and milk, and optional ingredients as desired.
- Heat up a frying pan, skillet or griddle to a medium-low temperature.
- Use butter, margarine, or cooking spray on the pan.
- Soak a slice of bread in the egg-milk mixture and place on pan; repeat until pan is full.
- Brown both sides of the French toast.
- Serve on plates, usually two slices per person, with toppings as desired.
[edit] Tips
The goal is to get both sides of the French toast nicely browned, while making sure the center is cooked. Using excessive heat could scorch the outside of the toast while leaving the inside undercooked.
Also, unless you are making French toast for dozens of people, it is easier to make sure that each slice of bread is evenly soaked in the egg and mix mixture if you make it up in small batches, one egg and 1/4 cup of milk and two slices at a time in one bowl. Then soak the two slices until almost all of the mixture has been absorbed. If your bowl is small, place the two slices on top of each other, then keep switching their position and flipping them (so that all four faces will be down into the mixture) until the mixture is absorbed.
The cooking process is too short to use most raw spices, but some fresh herbs might be very tasty.
