Bread, gilded. How does that happen?
Conferring such treatment on a humble slice or two is not quite the puzzle of the century, but what has eluded me for some time is a way to avoid getting that dreaded eggy skin on pan-fried French toast – the kind that’s a little tough or rubbery, looks sad and doesn’t taste so great. Unpleasant, in a word, and in my culinary world, a challenge.
Solved: I whisk the eggs (whole eggs plus a single egg yolk) with the cinnamon sugar, as if preparing the first step of a sponge-style cake batter, and, yes, it banishes the offending film. Please follow my lead, for it’s an easy step and returns a lovely result.
Once the soaking mixture is in place and settles into the bread, one side of each slice is coated with crushed brown rice cereal and a glimmer of cinnamon sugar. Out of the skillet, then, comes French toast memorable for its custardy richness and playful crunch.
Deluxe Cinnamon French Toast
6 to 8 servings
From cookbook author Lisa Yockelson.
The custardy texture of this French toast plays perfectly with its crunchy top.
Using 1-inch-thick slices of bread allows for good saturation of the whisked-egg mixture; the thickness helps the slices hold their shape throughout the process. As you might have guessed, pours of maple syrup are unnecessary here, but a side helping of sauteed apples and/or pears would be nice. Lisa Yockelson’s favorite plate mate for this is something salty-smoky, such as griddled thick-cut bacon.