Conference turris::cooks

The simplest recipe is to take a couple of eggs, add a little milk and 
beat them for a few seconds with a fork.  Then dip the bread in the 
mixture and fry the soggy slices.  If you've been eating in the U.S. 
that's probably what you've eaten.  Some of the facier places add a 
little vanilla extract to the batter.  The fancier still add numerous 
"secret ingredients."  True french toast fanatics say it can only be 
made with french bread, cut into rounds and allowed to go stale.  I 
don't get that worked up about breakfast, but it seems true to me that 
fresh bread doesn't make good french toast.
					>>>==>PStJTT

    I usually prepare in one of two ways.  Each require many eggs and
    a little milk.  Now and then, I also add some cinnamon to the mixed
    eggs/milk for added flavor.  The other way is to leave out cinnamon.

    The milk thins out the eggs so that the batter can soak into the
    bread.  Just using eggs simply coats the bread.
    
    Another trick is to butter the cooking surface before cooking each
    side.  
    
    A friend once tried to use something called Liquid Butter.  This
    is, I believe, a butter-flavored oil.  It is supposed to be used
    as a surface preparation, like oil.  He added it to the batter,
    thinking that it would be like adding butter.  After everyone who
    had eaten complained of stomach problems, he realized what he had
    done.  It is not a butter Substitute!
    
    Lee  

    I make French Toast really easy and less greasy.  In the blender,
    add 1 cup of milk, 4 eggs, and cinnamon.  Place 6 or how many slices
    of bread will fit in a pam coated 9 x 12 pan.  Pour half of blender
    contents over slices and turn slices, pour rest of mixture over
    the turned slices.  Refrigerate overnight.  In the morning bake
    at 375 until golden brown. Delicious and no frying pan mess.

    

    The french call it 'lost bread' or 'lost toast'.  Of course, they
    use the french words.
    
    Scott_who_knows_no_french

    Don't forget the final touch of pouring "real" maple syrup on them
    and not the phony stuff - after all, you've worked hard enough to
    make them come out just the way you like 'em!
    
    Ralph

In addition to the eggs, milk and spices a little bit of rum, brandy, or your
favorite nutty liquor is a nice touch (Got that out of Joy of Cooking).

-Byron

    One of the best breads I've used for making French Toast is Portuguese
    Sweet Bread.  It is sold in most of the large grocery stores.

    
    Day-old croissants make the best French Toast ever!!
    
    
    FABULOUS FRENCH TOAST
    
    5 eggs
    2/3 cup heavy or whipping cream
    1/3 cup Triple Sec (I use Gran Marnier)
    2 tablespoons granulated sugar
    Finely grated zest of 1 orange
    2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
    6 stale plain croissants, cut lengthwise in half
    6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
    Confectioners' sugar
     
    1.  Beat the eggs and cream together.  Add the Triple Sec, granulated
    	sugar, orange zest, and cinnamon and whisk until well blended.
    	Pour into a shallow bowl or pie plate.
    
    2.  Dip each croissant half in the egg mixture, turning once.  Melt	
    	a few tablespoons of the butter in a skillet over medium heat.
    	Add as many croissants as will fit and fry until golden on both
    	sides.  Repeat with the remaining croissants, adding butter
    	to the skillet as needed.
    
    3.  Sift confectioners' sugar over the croissants.  Serve immediately.
                                       
    	6 portions
    
    From the Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook    
    
    wmf

    My mother says that in Quebec Prov., they serve Confectioners Sugar
    on top instead of syrup.  This is the real way to eat it.  Myself,
    I like the syrup.
    
    joy
    

    ... my mother and I used to use salt.  When I think of it now, it
    turns my stomach, but at age 5-10, I guess I'd eat anything.
    
    Scott

    ...TRY A TOPPING OF LOTS OF CINNAMON AND A TEASPOON OF GRANULATED
    SUGAR.....
    
    RICK

    I also add some cinnamon to the egg/milk mixture before dipping
    the bread.  Also, sliced banana on top, then sprinkled with a little
    cinnamon is a terrific addition.  And, I agree that real maple syrup
    is the way to go.

    Still can't match the taste of french toast from New Orleans. I
    don't know what they do to it bu is it ever great. They serve it
    with confectioner's sugar and you don't need any syrup because the
    toast itself has a sweetness in it. 
    
    I've been trying to track down a recipe for it without success.
    If anyone has it please pass it along. My mouth is watering just
    thinking about it.
    

I use a sweet bread (cinnamon raisin, or finnish nissu (sp?) ), if I can, and 
add a generous shot of either Grand Marnier or Kahlua to the batter instead of 
vanilla.

						     
							- JP

                              TEXAS TOAST
    
    The new way to eat French Toast, as the Midwesterns say, is to smother
    the stack with whipped cream and fresh strawberries.
    
    Parents had this on the way to San Fransisco somewhere in the Midwest.
    I still like it with just butter on it.

     Another version of French Toast  that  I had somewhere (CA maybe?) 
     which was very good:  serve  with  apple  butter,  sour  cream and 
     coarsely chopped pecans...yum.
     
     Other suggestions:  Add orange juice and a bit of honey to the egg 
     mixture,  sprinkle  with  wheat    germ    before  cooking  for  a 
     crunchy/nutty texture.
     

                   < PAIN DORE >
    That is what the french call "french toast".
     My self I add cream of tartar,to the mixture of eggs and milk.
     only 1/4 of a tea spoon,it makes it flufflier.When it is cook
     some time I add slices of banana,rasberry,and,whip cream.Or you
    can eat it, with any kind of yogurt,and fresh fruits.
                            bon appetie    
                
                Michelyne.

    
    I always add a little bit of milk, and some cinammon to the eggs,
    then make sure I put a fork throught the bread a few times on each
    side to let it soak all the way through (that way you don't have
    hard white bread in the middle) .. then I put it in the oven, flipping
    halfway through.. and serve with a little confectioner's sugar,
    gobs of butter, and real Vermont maple syrup... Yum!
    
    

    Here is the ULTIMATE inf French Toast:
    
    In blender put:
    
    3 eggs (or equivalent in Egg Beaters)
    1 1/2 c milk
    1/2 tsp vanilla, or 1/4 almond extract
    1 tblsp sugar
    1 tsp cinnamon
    
    Blend it to smithereeeeennnnneeesss.
    
    Take 5 pieces of cinnamon raisin bread, spread a reasonable layer
    of cream cheese (the soften kind in a tub is best, try a fruit
    flavor), and top each with another piece of cinnamon raisin bread.
    
    Cut at an angle, dip in egg mixture and fry on a silverstone surface
    pan (no grease needed).  Spread with warmed honey, jam, maple syrup.
    
    I HATE raisins, but this is a different story, it went over BIG
    during a brunch celebration with the in-laws, and its easy to make.
    And special!

    I use salt and pepper. but then I put malt vinegar on chips too!

    When I went to Quebec last November we had French Toast with a
    topping of heated orange juice mixed with strawberry jam.  It
    was light and refreshing.
    
    The funny part about it is that we were staying at a B&B with
    a French woman who spoke relatively good English.  One morning
    she told us that she was going to make a special breakfast of
    "what do you call bread dipped in egg and fried".  It was hard
    to keep a straight face and tell the French woman that we called
    it French Toast!

    Funny ? My (English) mum always called it "Fried-bread-dipped-in-egg".

    For the ultimate French Toast, dip the bread in melted rum raisin ice
    cream and fry in butter.   To serve, add a dollop of frozen rum raisin
    to the cooked toast.  

	One idea that I stole from eating brunch at Ebeneezer's in Framingham, 
is to add corn flakes to the eggs mixture.  It is most definitely the best
french toast I've had.  It gives it a little crunch

B.R.   

    
    
    	I like my french toast crispy on the outside and mushy on
    	the inside.  So when possible I use challah (Jewish egg
    	bread) and cut it fairly thick.  This will soak up the
    	batter very.
    
    	When I cook it, I place it on a MED_HI pan and lower it
    	to LOW. 
    
    	aud...
    

	Re:  .26
		We tried the rum raisin ice cream for French toast last Sunday,
		and thought we had died and gone to heaven.

		It was the richest, creamiest, I-want-more French toast we've
		ever made.  It has led us to wonder what other flavors of ice
		cream would be interesting, from the simple like butter crunch
		to the fancier chocolate.  Truly decadent, and worth every
		calorie.

	Jan    who_is_so_glad_she_tried_it


P.S.  We put the usual maple syrup on it and found it yummy, although we used
      very little since it was already pretty sweet.

    
    Re: Rum Raisin Ice Cream French Toast (whew :-)
    
    How does this come out without using eggs?  Do you add eggs to the
    mixture, or does it do well without?
    
    
    Sarah
    

	We didn't add a thing -- just melted some Brigham's Rum Raisin Ice 
	Cream in a glass pie plate and dunked the bread in it as usual.  I
	did make sure I used a fairly firm type of white bread to be sure it
	could hold the liquid without falling apart on its way to the griddle.

	It seemed to take a little more care in seeing that it was cooked
	enough (browned and not soggy), but then I don't make French Toast
	all that often so it may have been more my cooking technique than the
	difference in the liquid.  I don't have a non-stick griddle and found
	that using butter made it more likely to stick than I normally 
	experience in using oil or fat.

	Jan    

    I use frozen bread for the frech toast.  It holds up nicely and keeps
    from breaking up when dunking it in the ice cream.   Also, I don't use
    any eggs when I use the ice cream.  * I also have tried using prepared
    eggnog for dipping.  Nothing like a lot of caleries in my recipes..huh?
    

    	Now that I'm a real yuppie with my automatic bread maker, I've been
    making cinnamon raison bread in that and then cutting big, fat slices
    of it to make french toast. The bread *can* make a big difference.

If you place the bread in a buttered baking dish, pour over the batter
mixture (commercial egg nog is a wonderful option) and store in the
frige over night - next morning, bake in a 350 degree oven until nicely browned
and done to your satisfaction - you will be sure to get all the batter
absorbed by the bread.  You also don't have to use quite as much butter
to make the toast...but, hey,  if you use egg nog or melted ice cream to start
with, I don't think it really matters if you save some calories by not
frying the bread in butter...8^}

    
    When I was growing up, my mother always made French toast according
    to my father's mother's recipe.  She was French, so I thought this
    was THE way to do it.  I was truly horrified to find out later that
    the "normal" way to eat French toast was with maple syrup.  To me,
    that was reserved for pancakes or waffles.  The way my mother made
    it (the way I make it still) is to add a small amount of milk and
    just under 1/4 cup granulated sugar (per egg) to the beaten eggs.
    Then all that was required for a topping was butter.  I just can't
    get used to it with maple syrup and thought I'd offer this suggestion
    for those who don't feel that they absolutely must have maple syrup on
    theirs.  I find it's better than putting confectioner's sugar on
    top, because the sweetness is made more even.
    
    Diane
    

    RE:-

    My mother cooked French toast with sugar also. I didn't know
    that people ate them with maple syrup until I went into the 
    Marines. I tried them with just butter and they were bland. Also,
    I found out that grits are not cream of wheat cereal.

    Jim

    
    Re: .37
    
    Jim,
    
    Gee, sounds like the Marines can be a real eye opener.
    I'm amazed - you're the only other person I know who grew up
    having French toast made with sugar in it!  And I used to be
    confused about grits and Cream of Wheat too.
    
    Maybe we're related.  8-).
    
    Diane
    

    I had french toast stuffed with cream cheese and strawberries at a B&B
    last fall that was MARVELOUS.  Big *thick* slices of French
    bread...mmm...
    
    My question is - would one stuff the bread before or after cooking it? 
    Also, how do you make sure that such thick pieces are cooked all the
    way through?
    
    D!

	The *best* french toast I've ever had was when I made it with cinnamon
bread from Bolton Springs (Maynard, MA), soaked thoroughly in an egg/milk/van-
illa mixture.  When it was done I put about 1/2 tsp. of maple cream on top,
took about 1 minute to soften and then spread.

	I also love it made with commercial raisin bread.

	Maple cream can be bought at many places where real maple syrup is sold.
It's simply maple syrup whipped until it becomes creamy.

	Laura

    Where can I buy Texas Bread to make my French Toast?  I live in Mass.
    I asked my Brother-in-Law who works for Wonder Bread if he can get me
    any and he can't.  He isn't even allowed to buy it -its for Restraunts
    ONLY!  He's borrowed it when he's worked the night shift for me - but I
    rather get it on the up and up. :-)
    
    Louisa

>    Where can I buy Texas Bread to make my French Toast?  I live in Mass.
>    I asked my Brother-in-Law who works for Wonder Bread if he can get me
>    any and he can't.  He isn't even allowed to buy it -its for Restraunts
>    ONLY!  He's borrowed it when he's worked the night shift for me - but I
>    rather get it on the up and up. :-)
    
Louisa,

I live in southern NH and what I've found here in Shop 'n Save is
Texas Toast.  I believe it's made by Country Kitchen.  Nice and
thick and great for French toast.  They don't always have it, but I've
seen it there recently.  If your supermarket carries the Country Kitchen
brand, perhaps you can ask them to try and get their Texas Toast bread.

......helen

    What's Texas Bread?
    
    My personal favorite basis for French Toast has always been Cinnamon
    Raisin Bread; I also add cinnamon to the egg batter.
    
    					andrew

    Texas toast, or bread, is white bread that is sliced about 1 inch thick.  
    
    I am also a cinnamon raison fan for french bread.
    
    mmeg

re: .44

>    Texas toast, or bread, is white bread that is sliced about 1 inch thick.  
    
Hmm, then perhaps the solution for the person who couldn't find it is
to buy unsliced white bread and slice it herself.

-Hal

    
>Hmm, then perhaps the solution for the person who couldn't find it is
>to buy unsliced white bread and slice it herself.


	Either that, or if the market has a bakery dept., ask them to slice
it to your specifications.

Laura