French Toast with Challa Bread“Pain Perdu”
*******
Makes 8-10 slices
Challa bread makes unbelievably good French toast—rich and
flavorful. This recipe has flour in the
batter, creating French toast that is crisp outside, moist and custard-like inside. Ask any French toast afficionado, and they’ll
agree that challa is the bread to use.Most local
bakeries, even at the grocery stores, make a high quality challa.If you don’t
have challa, you can substitute it with a high-quality pre-sliced sandwich
bread (it’s not nearly as good).Adapted from The Best Recipe Cookbook
2 eggs, large
¼ C butter, melted
1 ½ C milk
4 tsp vanilla extract
¼ C sugar
2/3 C flour,
unbleached
8-12 slices challa
bread, sliced ¾ -inch thick; day-old,
high-quality
¼ C butter, for
frying (1 TBL per batch)
- Heat a 10- or 12-inch
skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium heat for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, beat the eggs lightly in a
shallow pan or pie plate; whisk in the melted butter, then milk and
vanilla.
- In a small bowl, combine
flour, sugar and salt. Stir to mix
well. Add these dry ingredients to
egg batter and continue whisking until smooth.
- Soak the bread without
oversaturating, about 40 seconds per side for challa (or 30 seconds for
sandwich bread). Pick up bread and
allow the excess batter to drip off; repeat with the remaining slices.
- Swirl 1 TBL butter in the
hot skillet. Transfer the prepared
bread to the skillet in a single layer.
Three to four pieces should fit.
Cook until golden brown, about 1:45 (1 minute 45 seconds) on the
first side and 1 minute on the second.
Serve immediately. Continue,
adding 1 TBL butter to the skillet for each new batch.
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