Yes, the French do eat French toast, but for dessert rather than breakfast, and they give it the wonderful poetic name pain perdu — lost bread. Traditionally, it’s made with stale leftover baguettes, which are always plentiful in the French household and, because they have a shelf life of no more than a few hours, are purchased at least twice a day.
More recently, French chefs, with their knack for transforming the frugal dishes of home cooks into haute cuisine, have rediscovered pain perdu. They’ve elevated it by using the butter-and-egg-rich brioche rather than the humble baguette and by garnishing it not with maple syrup, which is an exotic luxury all but unknown in France, but with custard sauce, chocolate sauce, stewed fruit or ice cream. My wife, Yasmin’s, French toast is a breakfast dish, meant to be eaten in the American manner, with lots of butter and maple syrup, but it borrows a few tricks from the French — it’s made with brioche or challah, and the bread is soaked in a rich, almost eggless custard spiked with cinnamon, good-qualityvanilla paste, orange zest and a few grinds of black pepper.
At home we usually sprinkle our French toast with a few grains of flaky, crunchy Maldon sea salt, which gives the dish a nice bit of texture and, like the black pepper in the custard, adds a satisfying savory element.
Note: This recipe calls for grade B maple syrup. I know it makes no sense, but grade B maple syrup is actually better — thicker and fuller-flavored — than grade A.
John Broening cooks at Duo Restaurant, .
French Toast
Serves 4.
Ingredients
3/4 cup half and half
3 eggs
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
1 teaspoon orange zest
1/3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
Four 1-inch-thick slices bread, such as challah or brioche, preferably day-old
2 tablespoons ( 1/4stick) unsalted butter, plus more for garnish
2 tablespoons canola oil
Powdered sugar
Pure maple syrup, (preferably Grade B)
Few grains Maldon sea salt (optional)
Directions
Whisk first 9 ingredients in medium bowl, cover and leave in the refrigerator overnight. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 250 degrees. Place a wire rack on a baking sheet, and set aside. Place bread in a shallow baking dish large enough to hold bread slices in a single layer. Pour egg mixture over bread; soak for only a couple of minutes, and turn slices over; soak 1 more minute until coated, but make sure not to oversoak the slices.
Heat 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Fry two bread slices until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to wire rack; place in oven too keep warm. Wipe skillet, and repeat with remaining butter, oil and bread. Keep in oven until ready to serve. Sift a little powdered sugar over the French toast. Serve warm with butter, maple syrup and Maldon salt, if desired.
