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French Toast

Source of Recipe

The King Arthur Flour Company


Recipe Introduction

When we tested this recipe, it met with universal acclaim. "This is the best French toast I've ever tasted" sums up most of the comments. The difference between this and everyday, run-of-the-mill French toast? The quality of the ingredients. Start with a high-rising, golden-white, tasty white bread; you'll find our favorite recipe, simply titled White Bread, on this site. Slice it thick; we found 5/8-inch just about right. Bathe it in cream and eggs accented with nutmeg, vanilla and a touch of rum. Sauté it gently in butter; keep it warm in a hot oven, then serve it, on warmed plates, with sifted sugar and maple syrup. (Because it's been fried in butter, you won't need to butter it further when serving.) Crispy on the outside, toothsome/tender within, this is the French toast of which dreams are made.

List of Ingredients

6 slices bread, frozen and thawed or several days old*
3 eggs
3/4 cup cream
pinch of salt
dash of nutmeg
2 teaspoons rum
1 teaspoon vanilla



Recipe

*The bread needs to be somewhat stale, otherwise it'll fall apart in the batter.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or not), and set aside. Place 1 tablespoon each butter and vegetable oil in a heavy skillet, and set it to heat over medium heat.

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, salt, nutmeg, rum and vanilla. Stir till smooth but not foamy. Pour the batter into a shallow casserole dish large enough to hold two pieces of bread snugly.

Place two pieces of bread in the pan, turn them over, and turn them over again. The entire process should take about 15 seconds; you want the bread to absorb some of the liquid, but not to become thoroughly saturated.

Place the bread in the skillet, and fry it for 3 minutes before turning. Turn the bread; it should be golden brown. If not, raise the burner heat slightly. Fry the bread on the second side for about 2 minutes. Again, it should be golden brown. Transfer the French toast to the baking sheet, and place it in the preheated oven. Allow it to remain in the oven while you cook the remaining pieces.

When all the pieces are cooked, serve the French toast on heated plates, dusting it with confectioners' sugar or non-melting white sugar or non-melting cinnamon sugar (our favorite choice). Serve maple syrup or maple cream on the side. Yield: 6 servings.

Note: ordinarily you'd consider 2 to 3 pieces of French toast a single serving, but this particular recipe is so rich, and each slice of bread is big and thick enough, that we consider one piece a serving, particularly if you add fresh fruit and/or some breakfast ham, bacon or sausage.