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Challah French Toast

Source of Recipe

From "Barefoot Contessa Family Style" by Ina Garten


Recipe Introduction

"This is Sunday breakfast with the volume turned up. You can use leftover challah from the freezer, and the orange zest comes from the oranges you're going to squeeze for fresh juice. The rest you probably have around the house. And your family will love you."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 6 extra-large eggs
â—¦ 1 ½ cups half-and-half or milk
â—¦ 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
â—¦ ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
â—¦ 1 tablespoon good honey
â—¦ ½ teaspoon kosher salt
â—¦ 1 large loaf of challah or brioche bread
â—¦ Unsalted butter
â—¦ Vegetable oil

To serve:
â—¦ Pure maple syrup
â—¦ Good raspberry preserves (optional)
â—¦ Sifted confectioners' sugar (optional)


Recipe

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

In a large shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, orange zest, vanilla, honey, and salt. Slice the challah in ¾-inch-thick slices. Soak as many slices in the egg mixture as possible for 5 minutes, turning once.

Heat 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon oil in a very large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the soaked bread and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until nicely browned. Place the cooked French toast on a sheet pan and keep it warm in the oven.

Fry the remaining soaked bread slices, adding butter and oil as needed, until it's all cooked. Serve hot with maple syrup, raspberry preserves, and/or confectioners' sugar.


Makes 8 large slices