French Toast (Pain Perdu)
France's thrifty classic: day-old baguette soaked in sweet egg custard and fried golden in butter, crisp outside and creamy, almost custardy, inside.
Method
Use day-old baguette: slightly dry bread soaks up the custard without falling apart. Cut it on the diagonal into 2 cm-thick slices.
Add in this stepDay-old baguette, cut on the diagonal into 2 cm slices 10
In a wide, shallow dish, whisk the eggs with the sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and salt until no streaks of white remain, then whisk in the milk.
Add in this stepEggs 2Sugar 1½ tbspVanilla extract ½ tspGround cinnamon 1 pinchSalt 1 pinchMilk 180 ml
Lay the slices in the custard and soak for 20–30 seconds per side (up to 1 minute for very dry bread). Press one gently: custard should seep out and the centre should not feel dry. Lift onto a plate or rack and let the excess drip off.
Melt a knob of the butter in a large (26–28 cm) frying pan over medium-low heat until it foams. Add the slices without crowding and cook in 2 batch(es), in total, about 2–3 minutes per side, adding a little fresh butter for each batch. They are done when both sides are deep golden and the slices puff slightly and feel springy, with no wet custard when pressed. If they brown too fast, lower the heat: the centre needs time to set.
Add in this stepButter 20 g
medium-low heatServe hot, dusted with powdered sugar through a small sieve. Jam, fresh fruit or a drizzle of honey all go well.
Add in this stepPowdered sugar 2 tsp
Cook's tip
Fresh, soft bread turns soggy; if that's all you have, dry the slices in a 120°C oven for 10 minutes first. Wipe the pan between batches if the butter turns dark brown, or the next slices will taste burnt.
Cooking it at camp
Whisk the custard at home and carry it in a sealed bottle in the cooler. At camp, soak the bread in a shallow container and cook in a frying pan over a low burner flame. Keep the pan off the hottest spot so the outside doesn't burn before the centre sets.