French Toast

custard-soaked challah griddled in butter

Makes 8 slices · 515 kcal per serving

Ingredients

• 400 g Challah
• 240 g Milk
• 200 g Egg
• 60 g Heavy Cream
• 30 g Butter
• 12 g White Sugar
• 4.2 g Vanilla Extract
• 1.5 g Salt
• 1.3 g Ground Cinnamon

Method

1. Whisk the eggs, milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt until no streaks of white remain. Pouring the custard through a sieve makes it soak in more evenly.
2. Soak: Lay the slices in the custard in a single layer, 30–60 sec a side for enriched bread and up to 2 min for drier or sturdier loaves. They should be saturated to the center but not sagging.
3. Cook: Melt some of the butter in a skillet over medium and cook the slices until deep golden, ~3 min a side, adding butter between batches. Keep the heat at medium; hotter browns the outside before the custard sets. For slices over 1 in, finish in a 350°F / 175°C oven 5–8 min. Hold finished slices on a rack in a low oven rather than stacking them.

Notes

Bread: challah and brioche are the standard choice, enriched and tight-crumbed so they soak through without falling apart. Thick-cut white sandwich bread or Texas toast also works. Avoid thin pre-sliced bread, which disintegrates, and open-crumb sourdough or ciabatta, where the custard runs straight through the holes. Whatever the loaf, use it a day or two old and cut it ¾–1 in thick; fresh bread turns to paste in the custard.