How To Make French Toast

The surface a satisfying light golden interlaced with the richest of browns, the sugar caramelized and gritty in places, smelling heavenly of vanilla, there is something about French toasts that is beyond enticing. The French toast as the name suggests, is not a French concoction but a recipe devised very much by the British.

Generations of people, young and old alike, associate the smell of freshly made French toast with lazy Sunday mornings, when this heavenly fragrance wakes us up and some how weaves itself into the very fabric of the household, everything smelling faintly of vanilla the entire day.

So What Is French Toast? 

The names may vary the world over, from Bombay toast to Eggy bread, whatever you may call them; they are essentially different versions of the same thing.

French toast is usually made by dipping thick slices of bread into a mixture of eggs and fried in butter till the toast is golden brown and very slightly custard-ish in the centre.

Milk may be added to the egg mixture and most times sugar is too, but I certainly know of some people who prefer to fry their toasts without adding any sugar to the egg mixture and instead opting to eat them topped with a variety of sweet and savory toppings.

These toppings may range from sweet such as golden syrup, clotted cream, jam and honey or can be savory such as cheese, spreads, sliced sausages and fried tomatoes. The recipes will always differ from person to person and most people might not like what may be someone else’s idea of the most perfect French toast.

Whatever the case may be, this is my favorite take on this scrumptious toast:

• 1 large egg
• 2 ounces whole milk combined with 2 ounces single cream
• 1 un-heaped tablespoon ground sugar
• A pinch of ground cinnamon
• Quarter teaspoon good quality vanilla extract
• 4 thick slices of any milky white bread
• Unsalted butter for frying

Take a shallow large sized plate and crack open the eggs into it. Add the mixture of cream and milk into the eggs and beat with a fork until the eggs gets incorporated into the milk mixture.

Next put in the ground sugar along with the vanilla extract ( make sure you are using a very good quality extract, not the thin light brown stuff that comes in large clear bottles and smells dangerously of synthetic vanilla) and the pinch of ground cinnamon. Beat the mixture till everything is mixed well.

Now you need to take a large non-sticking frying pan and put it on very low heat. Add a good pat of unsalted butter but make sure that the heat is not high because butter burns very easily when left on high heat.

Take the slices of bread and dip them lightly in the egg mixture in the shallow dish, making sure both sides are coated well. You may want to take one day old bread because if the bread slices are too fresh, they’ll soak up the egg mixture too much and as a result you’ll get horrifyingly soggy French toast. Just keep a light hand and make sure the slices are covered with the egg mixture on both sides.

At this point of time the butter in the pan would be bubbling very slightly, take the eggy bread and lay it in the centre of the pan.

It’ll be much better if you make one slice at a time, but if your frying pan is big enough, two slices at a time are good enough, just make sure you add enough butter.

Turn the slices halfway through but not too early. Lift a corner up slightly, using a spatula, and once you’ve made sure that the surface is a light golden brown, only then lift the toast up and change the side.

French toast is no good if it isn’t slightly browned and crisp at the surface but light and cooked in the middle. You’ll need to be in your stride to make the most perfect one out of the whole batch, but it’ll be worth the effort of being patient and not flipping over the toast too soon.

When the slice is done, lay it on kitchen paper to soak up the extra fat and lift it onto the serving plates while it’s still hot. 

This recipe is enough for 4 thick slices of bread and may serve up to two people, depending on how hungry they are. 

The possibilities are limit-less. You may want to eat the toast with a bit of fresh fruit compote, such as strawberry or raspberry compote, made with fresh strawberries/ raspberries crushed in orange juice and mixed with caster sugar till the mixture gets a thick consistency.

Or you might want to eat them with a bit of un sugared thick cream. Another very good French toast accompaniment is Golden syrup or Maple syrup but if you find it too sweet for your taste, just enjoy the crisp buttery toasts without any added.