Wednesday, March 3, 2010

French Toast: The Big Batch


French toast is a great breakfast food. It's easy to make, has protein, carbs, calcium, and can even satisfy a sweet tooth. But if you're making it for more than two people, often the first pieces of toast are cold by the time the last are done. Very annoying. This recipe finishes all the toast together in the oven, ensuring that everyone gets a piping hot plateful at the same time.

Ingredients:
6-8 thick slices of stale bread. I prefer it at least 1/2-inch thick. I slice my own homemade bread, but you can often find "Texas Toast"-cut bread in the store. The night before you plan to make French toast, leave the slices out on the counter to get stale.
4 eggs
1 1/2 c. milk.
1/4 c. flavored coffee creamer (the one you get in the refrigerated section). You can find a lot of great flavors that add a nice punch. I like the caramel-flavored ones best for this.
1/4 c. sugar.
1/2 tsp. vanilla.
Non-stick cooking spray.
Powdered sugar, for decoration. (optional).

In a large pie pan or square baking pan, beat the eggs with a wisk until they're well-combined. Stir in the milk, creamer, vanilla and sugar, and mix until you have a nice custard.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. On the stovetop, spray a frying pan lightly with cooking spray and heat on medium/high heat. Only soak as many slices as will fit in the frying pan! Put the slices of bread on the frying pan and cook until browned on one side, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Flip to the other side and repeat. You can put more slices of bread to soak while you cook the first batch. Don't worry if the middle of the French toast is cooked or not; it's not important. All you're worried about is the outside being nice and golden. Take the cooked slices off, spray the pan lightly with cooking spray, and move on to the next batch.

As you take the French toast off the frying pan, put the slices in a 9x13 baking pan. You can layer them like scalloped potatoes or playing cards, just try to fit them all in as best as you can. When all the pieces are in the pan, cover it with foil and put it in the oven for 15 minutes. Put the toast on plates, sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar, and serve.

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