Along with Ramen Noodles and Mac 'n Cheese, French Toast was one of the first things I learned to make on my own as a child. Since it's mostly just eggs, milk and bread, not much can go wrong. I also like to add cinnamon to it, because I like to add cinnamon to everything.
I made it once for breakfast on a scout camp and my scout master liked it so much, it became my scout duty to make it on many camps thereafter. A little cinnamon went a long way, I guess.
As it turns out, there are a lot of other things you can do to influence people with French Toast. Here's my list of 7 things in particular that I think you should consider.
1. Heat
In my youthful haste, I used to just crank the stove or griddle all the way up. That's fine if you like it a little crispy. But in the wisdom of my thirties, I've learned to slow down and cook it on medium*. About 350 F. Have patience Grasshopper. It will reach its climax of golden crispiness soon enough, and it will also be cooked all the way through yet still moist inside.
2. Bread
This is by far the most important consideration. In medieval times, French Toast was a way to make use of leftover or stale bread. 'Pain Perdu', the French called it, meaning 'Lost Bread'. But we're way past that now. If you want Killer French Toast, don't go for the leftovers, get something fresh -- and not just something from Walmart. Go to a local bakery that only does fresh baked bread and pastries, and does them well.
Here you see some orange cranberry bread that I picked up at Bread Basket & Pies in Mesa, Arizona. But if you live anywhere else in the U.S., you are probably more likely to have something like a Great Harvest Bread Co. nearby. They have nice Killer French Toast options such as Cinnamon Chip, Apple Scrapple, or Blueberry Cheesecake Swirl.
3. Eggs and Milk
The eggs are less important. Aside from ethical preferences regarding the lifestyle of the hens that lay the eggs, it doesn't really matter. But as far as milk goes, the creamier the better, so go with 2% or whole if you have it. More important is perhaps the milk to egg ratio. Generally, 1/2 cup milk per egg is a good starting point. But you prefer a less creamy and more eggy constitution, just reduce the milk.
The effect adding salt to eggs is debatable. People have literally done experiments to see how it affects the texture, or how much time it should sit in the eggs. The conclusions are not dramatic either way, and even less so with French Toast considering the contributions of all the other ingredients. Personally, I like a little salt to complement the sweetness, but not so much that you can actually taste it.
I'll add a note here about how long to soak the bread in the milk/egg batter before cooking it. Some recipes call for an overnight soaking. That seems a little overboard to me. Once the bread has soaked up all the batter, it can't really soak up any more. And that happens pretty quickly unless you are using something really dry, or dense like Pumpernickel (which you probably shouldn't be using for French Toast anyways). So, I say soaking the bread 15 -30 seconds on each side is good enough.
4. Spices
This is an easy way to keep French Toast interesting. Cinnamon, Cloves, Nutmeg are all good options depending on your preference. Ginger can be good too, if you're into that. There are no rules here, so add as much or as little as you like.
5. Butter
I know this might be hard, but you're gonna have to ditch Pam if you want to take your relationship with French Toast to the next level. I mean the cooking spray of course. Same with the margarine and that Fabio stuff. Killer French Toast deserves real butter, and not vegetable oil substitutes. Sometimes a little saturated fat is worth it. I like to use a stick of butter like a glue stick to grease the pan, right before I put the French Toast on there to sizzle.
6. Fruit and Extras (optional)
Adding some berries or other fruit is always a good idea. Whipped cream, nuts, jams, fruit syrups and such are great too. Again, there are no rules here.
7. Cream Cheese Filling(optional)
If you have opted to go big rather than going home, then you are going to want your French Toast to be stuffed. That means making a cream cheese filling, and using it to sandwich two slices of bread together. This makes the equivalent of one really thick Texas Toast-like slice with some extra goodness inside. It's easy, here's how to make it:
4 oz. Cream Cheese
1/8 cup Sour Cream
1/3 cup Powdered Sugar
1/2 teaspooon Vanilla Extract
After the Cream Cheese has warmed a bit to room temperature, just whip it all together with an egg beater until it gets creamy.
These instructions should pretty much transcend any need for a recipe. But here is one anyways, which should be enough for 3-4 slices of bread, or 6-8 slices if you have your bread slices sandwiched with cream cheese in the middle. Just mix this all up together (use the egg-beater if you have it handy):
2 Eggs
1 cup Milk
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
If all goes well, you should end up with something killer like this:
This recipe and the cream cheese filling is adapted from the Homemade Hooplah blog (Chrisy, 2015). A lot of other variations are out there, including approaches where orange juice is incorporated into the batter (Holly, 2014), or pumpkin (Jaclyn, 2014), or where it is baked in the oven (Martha, 2001). I haven't tried these approaches, but I am intrigued enough to pass them on.
*Alternatively, there is another heating approach I've tried. But it's a little uncouth and not for everyone. I call it 'Merican Toast, and it involves going outside and cooking it on the BBQ grill. You get those nice grill lines on your toast like you would get on a rib-eye steak.
I made it once for breakfast on a scout camp and my scout master liked it so much, it became my scout duty to make it on many camps thereafter. A little cinnamon went a long way, I guess.
As it turns out, there are a lot of other things you can do to influence people with French Toast. Here's my list of 7 things in particular that I think you should consider.
1. Heat
In my youthful haste, I used to just crank the stove or griddle all the way up. That's fine if you like it a little crispy. But in the wisdom of my thirties, I've learned to slow down and cook it on medium*. About 350 F. Have patience Grasshopper. It will reach its climax of golden crispiness soon enough, and it will also be cooked all the way through yet still moist inside.
 |
| Fig. 1. Optimal cooking temperatures is an important factor in producing Killer French Toast. |
This is by far the most important consideration. In medieval times, French Toast was a way to make use of leftover or stale bread. 'Pain Perdu', the French called it, meaning 'Lost Bread'. But we're way past that now. If you want Killer French Toast, don't go for the leftovers, get something fresh -- and not just something from Walmart. Go to a local bakery that only does fresh baked bread and pastries, and does them well.
 |
| Fig. 2. Killer French Toast begins with Killer Bread. Shown here is Orange Cranberry, one of many possible options. |
3. Eggs and Milk
The eggs are less important. Aside from ethical preferences regarding the lifestyle of the hens that lay the eggs, it doesn't really matter. But as far as milk goes, the creamier the better, so go with 2% or whole if you have it. More important is perhaps the milk to egg ratio. Generally, 1/2 cup milk per egg is a good starting point. But you prefer a less creamy and more eggy constitution, just reduce the milk.
The effect adding salt to eggs is debatable. People have literally done experiments to see how it affects the texture, or how much time it should sit in the eggs. The conclusions are not dramatic either way, and even less so with French Toast considering the contributions of all the other ingredients. Personally, I like a little salt to complement the sweetness, but not so much that you can actually taste it.
I'll add a note here about how long to soak the bread in the milk/egg batter before cooking it. Some recipes call for an overnight soaking. That seems a little overboard to me. Once the bread has soaked up all the batter, it can't really soak up any more. And that happens pretty quickly unless you are using something really dry, or dense like Pumpernickel (which you probably shouldn't be using for French Toast anyways). So, I say soaking the bread 15 -30 seconds on each side is good enough.
 |
| Fig. 3. Eggs are not a significant factor; brown or white will do just fine. |
4. Spices
This is an easy way to keep French Toast interesting. Cinnamon, Cloves, Nutmeg are all good options depending on your preference. Ginger can be good too, if you're into that. There are no rules here, so add as much or as little as you like.
 |
| Fig. 4. Many a war has been waged over access to spices, so don't hold back on adding some to your French Toast. |
5. Butter
I know this might be hard, but you're gonna have to ditch Pam if you want to take your relationship with French Toast to the next level. I mean the cooking spray of course. Same with the margarine and that Fabio stuff. Killer French Toast deserves real butter, and not vegetable oil substitutes. Sometimes a little saturated fat is worth it. I like to use a stick of butter like a glue stick to grease the pan, right before I put the French Toast on there to sizzle.
6. Fruit and Extras (optional)
Adding some berries or other fruit is always a good idea. Whipped cream, nuts, jams, fruit syrups and such are great too. Again, there are no rules here.
 |
| Fig. 5. The strawberry (Frageria vesca) is one of many fruit accompaniments that can add flair to your French Toast. |
7. Cream Cheese Filling
If you have opted to go big rather than going home, then you are going to want your French Toast to be stuffed. That means making a cream cheese filling, and using it to sandwich two slices of bread together. This makes the equivalent of one really thick Texas Toast-like slice with some extra goodness inside. It's easy, here's how to make it:
4 oz. Cream Cheese
1/8 cup Sour Cream
1/3 cup Powdered Sugar
1/2 teaspooon Vanilla Extract
After the Cream Cheese has warmed a bit to room temperature, just whip it all together with an egg beater until it gets creamy.
These instructions should pretty much transcend any need for a recipe. But here is one anyways, which should be enough for 3-4 slices of bread, or 6-8 slices if you have your bread slices sandwiched with cream cheese in the middle. Just mix this all up together (use the egg-beater if you have it handy):
2 Eggs
1 cup Milk
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
If all goes well, you should end up with something killer like this:
 |
| Fig. 6. Killer French Toast, stuffed and strawberry decorated in all its glory. |
This recipe and the cream cheese filling is adapted from the Homemade Hooplah blog (Chrisy, 2015). A lot of other variations are out there, including approaches where orange juice is incorporated into the batter (Holly, 2014), or pumpkin (Jaclyn, 2014), or where it is baked in the oven (Martha, 2001). I haven't tried these approaches, but I am intrigued enough to pass them on.
*Alternatively, there is another heating approach I've tried. But it's a little uncouth and not for everyone. I call it 'Merican Toast, and it involves going outside and cooking it on the BBQ grill. You get those nice grill lines on your toast like you would get on a rib-eye steak.
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