As much as I love smoothies, muesli, cereal and toast, Sunday mornings are the perfect time to really enjoy a hot breakfast. One of my favorite warm breakfast treats is french toast. For some reason, it always reminds me of vacation (which is a much needed reminder now that school is about to start!). It’s a bit fancy, special, and quicker than pancakes.
As I was reading Orangette’s book A Homemade Life, her dad’s french toast recipe stuck out to me. It’s just regular french toast: eggs, milk, a dash of vanilla. But it’s cooked in a generous glug of oil — not butter. Call me crazy, but this is the one time that I believe that oil works better. It doesn’t burn in the pan like butter does — and lightly fries the bread to a crispy, golden-brown crust. *no soggy french toast here!
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| soaking in eggy goodness |
In addition to the technique, I believe that really good French toast starts with really good bread. I made mine with a day old loaf of my Sweet Hawaiian Bread, which added a subtle, sweet mango flavor to the dish.
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| getting nice and crispy! |
What’s your favorite special breakfast?
With love,
Erica
P.S. This post was featured on the Huffington Post website as one of the top 20 recipes for French toast!
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| delicious with some maple syrup, bananas, and berries |
Ingredients
1 cup milk
4 large eggs
1 Tbs sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt
1/4 tsp allspice
light-tasting olive oil
6 slices bread (I used my Hawaiian loaf — but French, brioche, or challah would work well), about ¾ to 1 inch thick
Pure maple syrup, for serving
Whisk together the first six ingredients in a wide, shallow bowl.
Place a large skillet, preferably cast-iron, over low to medium heat, and add a few glugs of oil to cover the bottom of the skillet (about 1/8 inch thick).
Two or three at a time, add the bread slices to the egg mixture in the bowl, allowing them to rest for a minute or two on each side. They should feel heavy and thoroughly saturated, but they should not be falling apart. When the oil is hot, place the slices in the skillet. They should sizzle a bit, and the oil should bubble lightly around the edges of the bread. Cook until the underside of each slice is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Turn the bread, and cook another 2 minutes or so. Remove the bread from the skillet to a plate lined with a paper towel, allow to rest for 30 seconds or so, and serve immediately.
Adapted from A Homemade Life
I love this style of French toast! They make these all the time in Hong Kong cafes, and if you ever visit Hawaii (in which case, I'm going to ask what your carry-on limit is–I think I could fit!), you should definitely go to a place called Ken's. They have the best sweet Hawaiian bread French toast ever. And now I can make it at home–thanks for sharing this!
No way! I had no idea they made this in Hong Kong! That's awesome, I love this type of french toast as well! Thank you so much for the restaurant recommendation! Next time I am in Hawaii I will be sure to check it out! I will ask my cousins if they have ever tried it!
The place is http://kenshouseofpancakes-hilohi.com/ on the big island, in case your cousins ask! I love love love Hawaii <3
Thank you so much! I have pinned the place on my "travel" board on Pinterest. I love Hawaii too, when was the last time you were on the islands?
2009–we actually stayed at a hotel that got wiped off the map by the tsunami waves just a few months later. Such gorgeous beaches, though! Any favorite frequented spots/attractions? And I love browsing through Pinterest boards, what's your username? Mine's wallflourgirl (captain obvious to the rescue kthx)!
This is probably a baking crime, but I find very often I prefer oil to butter. Oil makes really good cakes and muffins and I definitely think it would make awesome french toast. I can't remember the last time I had fresh toast; it sounds sooooo good!
I hate to say that I kind of agree with you! I love it in banana bread, and pancakes and french toast — it just makes everything so rich! You should definitely try it — it gives french toast the most divine, crunchy crust you can imagine. Just remember to be generous with the oil!
This is very Good recipe. Keep going on with your effort to write more posts.
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Thank you so much! I have always wanted to make stuffed french toast — your recipe intrigued me!