French toast is a poor man's dish, considering its origins: it was discovered as a way to use up stale bread. So every morning I discover I'd forgotten to buy fresh bread, or I'm really-really lazy and don't feel like dressing up and going to the store, I am happy to have found this dish. You can do this with perfectly fresh bread, but it's really a lot better if you use at least one-day-old bread. That's because fresh bread will not fry the same way as old one and since frying is the main key to this dish, you should probably make the best out of it.
In addition to a few slices of bread you will need some eggs, olive oil, a bit of milk, salt and pepper. The quantities depend on how many slices do you want. You'll need one egg for every two slices of bread and two tablespoons of milk for each egg. For example, if you want ten slices of bread you'll need 5 eggs and 10 tbsp (about 100ml) of milk.
First, set the stove on high heat. Take a pan and put a bit of olive oil in it so the bread won't stick to the pan while frying. You can also use butter for this, but I'd recommend olive oil if you have some handy, the butter tends to solidify if it doesn't have additional liquids. Now put the pan over the burner.
Next, crack the eggs into a bowl. Add the milk and the salt and pepper and beat them with the fork. Do a good job, the eggs and the milk must be thoroughly mixed. The pan should have heated sufficiently by now, so turn the heat down to medium-low.
Dip the bread into the egg mixture. You have to coat it on both sides and press it a bit so some of the mixture will moisten the inside of the bread as well. Bread acts like a sponge, so press gently and you will see the mixture being sucked in. Place the slices of bread into the pan, one or more, depending on the size of your pan, and cook until golden on both sides. Serve immediately. For the sides, add bacon, sausages, salami etc.
Or, if you prefer a sweeter dish for breakfast, you could skip the salt and pepper and add vanilla sugar or vanilla extract and cinnamon instead. The resulting dish will be best served with cream, fruits and syrup, like pancakes. Just be mindful not to overcook the bread. The egg coating tends to cook very fast, so the best way to ensure an even crispness is to flip the slices every 20 seconds until they get an even golden look.
Oana is an active member of an online community - Lacartes.com, where people can share recipes, photos, videos,discover great local businesses and products. When you don't have much time or ideas, French toast is an easy answer for a tasty meal. It doesn't take that long to do it and it doesn't require many ingredients. Here is one way to do it. This article can only be reproduced in its entirety when the link to lacartes.com is live at all times.