Our favorite Italian place [Illiano’s Cafe in Eatontown, NJ] includes a loaf of freshly baked bread along with every takeout order. The portions are huge – we usually get at least 3 meals from each plate – and it comes with a salad. Needless to say, we usually have a partially eaten, getting dried out part of a loaf of bread the next day. Luckily, it is perfect for making french toast. I prefer a custard-like french toast, which is a good way to revive dried out bread. It takes some prep time, but the patience pays off in the end. If you prefer a drier french toast, just dip the bread in the mixture and continue to cooking.Depending on the amount of bread that you have leftover, you might have to adjust the amount of the egg mixture that you make. You want it to almost cover all of your bread. If you really want to make it special, you can add a little bit of orange zest (maybe 1/2 an orange) and some Grand Marnier.
French Toast
Ingredients:
- day old fresh bread
- 3 eggs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 tsp sugar
- pinch salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla paste or vanilla extract
- optional: orange zest & 1 tbsp Grand Marnier
Directions:
- In a bowl, whisk together everything but the bread.
- Lay your bread out in a shallow dish and pour the egg mixture over it. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 15 minutes. Flip the bread over, recover, and let sit for an additional 15 minutes.
- Preheat a griddle over medium heat and grease well.
- Using either a spatula or your fingers, remove the bread from the mixture and place on your preheated griddle. The bread will be extremely soft, so be gentle.
- Cook for a couple of minutes or until it starts to brown. Flip over, and cook the other side.
- Repeat with the remaining bread.
- Serve warm with maple syrup.