French Toast

Nothing starts the day off right like a good breakfast. Some days I like the savory breakfasts – cream chipped beef, corned beef hash, home fries, eggs, sausage, bacon, etc. Most days, however, I love that you can eat something sweet and slathered in maple syrup and call it a meal, instead of just dessert! French toast is easy, but there is a technique to it. You do need stale, dried out bread, it soaks up more of the egg mixture and, more importantly, it holds up better. Fresh bread tends to get mushy and almost slimy to the point it’s impossible to work with.

I made this French toast using my Pao Doce from a while ago. It freezes well, so I pulled some I had been saving in our freezer and sliced off a couple chunks for breakfast. The real trick is to cook it pretty low and slow. You want the inside to ‘set up’ similar to a custard without burning the outside.

My husband and I both love French toast, but we differ greatly on how we dress it up once it comes out of the skillet. He loves to drench his in maple syrup, whereas I swear by my cinnamon sugar – no syrup. Or, if you can get your hands on some of Watkins Cinna-Cream sprinkles, buy them. It’s cinnamon sugar but with a vanilla twist. Amazing. Seriously, go get some.


My bread was cooked in a 9” cake pan, and I cut off two 3/4-1” slices near the center of the loaf to make four pretty large pieces of French toast. And that’s more than enough for the two of us. French Toast

Generously Serves 2

4 thick slices of stale bread
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (I use Watkins Brand)
Pinch ground nutmeg (optional)
salt to taste

Beat together egg, milk, salt, spices and vanilla.
Heat a lightly oiled or buttered griddle of skillet over medium/medium-high flame.
Dunk each slice of bread in egg mixture, soaking both sides.
Place in pan, and cook on both sides until golden.
Serve hot.