Eggy bread, or French Toast, is a comfort food par excellence! There’s a reason why pretty much every food culture has a version of this satisfying breakfast/brunch dish.
My taste memory includes three types of eggy bread – sweet, savoury and spicy – and we knew it as French Toast (if sweet), Eggy Bread (if savoury), or Bombay Toast (if spicy). The Romans had a version they called Pan Dulcis – sweet bread.
three simple recipes.
The base for each version of this variously named dish is identical.
Your base – Crack open one egg into a bowl per slice of toast. Add a dash of milk and whip into a frothy mixture.
Sweet – I add half a teaspoon of vanilla sugar (or plain sugar) to the beaten egg and mix. You can add a pinch if cinnamon powder if you wish too. I usually do this after its cooked and about to be served, when I’ll dust it with a mix of cinnamon and sugar.
Savoury – This one is really simple. Add a generous pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper and mix in thoroughly.
Spicy – I chopped chilli, a generous pinch of salt, and one of turmeric and garam masala thoroughly mixed in (you can substitute generic ‘curry powder’ if you wish). I serve the toast dressed with some finely chopped fresh coriander.
Method
- Immerse your bread so that each side gets 30 seconds in the beaten egg mixture.
- Set a pan in a medium heat with a generous knob of butter.
- Once the butter is foaming, add the bread in to cook for approximately a minute per side. The toast should be generally golden in colour with well-cooked bronzed patches and, when squeezed slightly, not giving out uncooked egg.
- If it’s uncooked, just turn the heat down a little and apply a gentle pressure with your spatula to the uncooked area so that it cooks.
Comfort food for the cooler weather, and the perfect energy bomb you need ahead of a brisk walk in the fresh air.
Sanjit Chudha 