Poor Shawn stayed home from work yesterday because he's a little under the weather. I decided to treat him to a warm breakfast of French toast, fruit, and orange juice. (Before you start thinking I'm a better wife than I really am, this might be the first time in our marriage I've done this. Like I've said, not a morning person.) Anyway, on my way home from the store, breakfast supplies in tote, I started to wonder if most people know the best bread to use for French toast. I took some pics, and now you have a mini blog post.
The
answer (in my opinion) is Challah bread! It's a Jewish egg-based bread
that is used in their Sabbath and certain holiday meals to remember the
manna that God sent down to the Israelites in the years after they left
Egypt. It's really perfect for French toast because it's a bit dry, so
it holds its shape beautifully and can absorb very well the egg custard
you dip it in before placing it in the buttery skillet. If you've
had a
problem with soggy or limp French toast in the past, try Challah!
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UPDATE: An old friend of mine, who is Jewish, by the way, made a couple comments to me about this post that were just too good not to share. He's so right that good Challah done correctly is not dry. In fact, I ought to have mentioned that I slice mine well ahead of time to allow it to dry out if it's not already dry enough. (I'm guessing the reason why some people make it too dry in the first place is that it's an egg bread, and too many egg whites will dry out baked food. Or over-baking it will do that, of course.) He also noted that French toast (just like Ribollita) was derived specifically as a way to salvage stale bread, so breads that are a day or two old are perfect. Thanks, Seth!
Also, read Tiffani's comment below for what sounds like a solid cooking tip. :)
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Instead of butter, try oil... and a decent amount too. It will change your french toast world. My husband's favorite food is butter, so it was a leap of faith for us to try to cook our french toast in oil.... but there was no turning back. Let the oil get hot and then cook the french toast as you normally do. The result: crispy outside and custardy insides. Yum!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tiffani! Such a helpful comment. I use half oil and half butter, so I can get the flavor of the butter and the texture the oil. But I've never done just oil. Next time I'm going to try it that way, for sure! Besides, you can always top it with butter afterward, right?!
ReplyDeleteI have a Jewish friend that swears by this secret. Delicious!
ReplyDelete