French Toast for Challah or Sandwich Bread
By America's Test KitchenPublished on August 22, 2007
Time
35 minutes
Yield
Makes 4-5 challah slices, 6-8 sandwich slices
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Though thick-sliced challah is best for French toast, you can substitute high-quality, presliced sandwich bread. Flipping challah is easiest with tongs, but a spatula works best with sandwich bread. To speed the cooking of large quantities, heat two or more skillets to brown a few batches at once. To vary the flavor of the batter, add three-quarters of a teaspoon of ground cinnamon or one-half teaspoon of ground nutmeg with the dry ingredients, or substitute almond extract for the vanilla.
Instructions
- Heat 10- to 12-inch skillet (preferably cast-iron) over medium heat for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, beat egg lightly in shallow pan or pie plate; whisk in butter, then milk and vanilla, and finally sugar, flour, and salt, continuing to whisk until smooth. Soak bread without oversaturating, about 40 seconds per side for challah or 30 seconds per side for sandwich bread. Pick up bread and allow excess batter to drip off; repeat with remaining slices.
- Swirl 1 tablespoon butter in hot skillet. Transfer prepared bread to skillet; cook until golden brown, about 1 minute 45 seconds on first side and 1 minute on the second. Serve immediately. Continue, adding 1 tablespoon butter to skillet for each new batch.
Time
35 minutesYield
Makes 4-5 challah slices, 6-8 sandwich slicesIngredients
Ingredients
Ingredients
Why This Recipe Works
We wanted a French toast recipe that would be crisp and buttery on the outside, soft and custard-like on the inside, with well-balanced flavor, sweet enough to eat with only a sprinkling of confectioners' sugar, but not so sweet that it couldn't be topped with syrup or macerated fruit. To get this perfect French toast recipe, we used 3/4-inch slices of challah or sandwich bread to add flavor and richness. To prevent an overly eggy flavor, we used just one egg. Instead of a loose egg mixture in which to dip the bread, we made a batter with the egg, milk, salt, sugar, vanilla, butter, and flour. This got the bread evenly crisp and brown and let just enough moisture through to the interior to keep it custard-like but not heavy.
Before You Begin
Though thick-sliced challah is best for French toast, you can substitute high-quality, presliced sandwich bread. Flipping challah is easiest with tongs, but a spatula works best with sandwich bread. To speed the cooking of large quantities, heat two or more skillets to brown a few batches at once. To vary the flavor of the batter, add three-quarters of a teaspoon of ground cinnamon or one-half teaspoon of ground nutmeg with the dry ingredients, or substitute almond extract for the vanilla.
Instructions
- Heat 10- to 12-inch skillet (preferably cast-iron) over medium heat for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, beat egg lightly in shallow pan or pie plate; whisk in butter, then milk and vanilla, and finally sugar, flour, and salt, continuing to whisk until smooth. Soak bread without oversaturating, about 40 seconds per side for challah or 30 seconds per side for sandwich bread. Pick up bread and allow excess batter to drip off; repeat with remaining slices.
- Swirl 1 tablespoon butter in hot skillet. Transfer prepared bread to skillet; cook until golden brown, about 1 minute 45 seconds on first side and 1 minute on the second. Serve immediately. Continue, adding 1 tablespoon butter to skillet for each new batch.
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