Interesting points about French toast:

• French toast is known by many names such as Spanish toast, American Toast,Easter toast, poor knights and even eggy bread too. It is known by different names in different parts of the world. In England it is known to be as Poor knight’s meal because the rich class was being offered a dessert where as lower class people had to feed on their poor knights’ bread which is a similar way of present; to eat with jam.
• French toast and Western toast are the names given to it in China where it is further deep fried and served with syrup and butter.
• There are many cook books in which you can easily find different types of French toast recipes.
• An important aspect about these recipe books is that these are to be kept by the rich class only and the poor class cannot even learn these recipes from them.
• It becomes tough to decide the origin of such recipes since the working class group will pass the recipe from one generation to another.
• In Roman times the white bread was the bread which was sold mostly called the Roman bread and even it was served with honey.
• French toast was the name originated from the word French pain perdu which means lost bread.
• It is for sure that today French toast is one of the favorite dishes of the Americans for their morning meals.

Steps involved in making this dish are:

• Firstly you have to preheat the griddle on a medium heat and then put a tablespoon of butter on it.
• After that you have to reduce the setting from medium heat to low heat. Then you have to mix the two eggs in a quarter cup of milk and whisk it properly till the yolk of the egg is properly mixed.
• After that you have to put the slice of bread into that egg mixture and give a coating of that mixture on both sides and then place it on that griddle.
• After this step you have to sprinkle some cinnamon on each slice of bread. You have to cook both sides of the bread till it becomes golden brown.
• Once the French toast gets prepared you can serve it with a maple syrup.

Another popular recipe is egg less French toast:

• The ingredients used in this recipe are half a cup of semolina, half a cup of yogurt, some chopped onions, half chopped tomato, green chilies, a tablespoon of coriander leaves, some salt and a little turmeric powder and four slices of bread.
• You have to prepare a batter of all the above ingredients and then dip each of the bread pieces into that batter and coat both its sides.
• Then you have to take half teaspoon of oil on a heated non-stick pan and then cook the slices of bread on that pan for three minutes and flip its other side and then it can be served with the sauce.

Cook time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients

• Batter:
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Filling:

• 1 ½ cup cream cheese
• ¼ chocolate chips
• ½ cup diced banana
• 1/8 cup orange juice
• ¼ cup sugar
• Syrup:
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• Butter
• Fresh berries (optional)

Preparation
1.    For preparing the batter, aggregate all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix them
2.    Refrigerate the batter until required.
3.    The filling ingredients are folded into a bowl till they are nicely incorporated.
4.    Syrup is prepared by combining all the ingredients in a pan on medium heat. Keep stirring until sugar dissolves completely. Boil till 1/3 remains in the pan.
5.    Now preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
6.    In a pan heat butter or oil.
7.    Soak the bread slices into the batter and place in the pan.
8.    Cook the slices for 2 minutes or until they turn brown from both the sides.
9.    Remove the slices into a plate and add fillings on the top of the bread slices.
10.  Transfer the slices to the oven and bake for around 8 minutes.
11.   Cut the slices to half and serve it with the syrup prepared. You can also serve vanilla ice cream along.

It may sound different but French toasts can be transformed into a mouth-watering dessert. With a touch of few extra ingredients and variations this breakfast recipe can transform to a sweet serve for someone special. Stuffed with strawberries, French toast can be appealing to the taste buds of even the toast haters.

Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
Filling:

•    1 cup freshly sliced strawberries
•    2 tsp. sugar
•    Softened cream cheese

For toast:

•   4 thick bread slices
•   1 egg
•    ¾ cup milk
•   2 tsp. melted butter
•    1 tsp. vanilla
•    ¼ cup all-purpose flour
•     Salt to taste

1. Maple syrup, powdered sugar and some additional sliced strawberries for serving Directions
2. Combine sliced strawberries and sugar in bowl to make the filling.
3. Mix them thoroughly to make a fine mixture.
4. Allow it to macerate for 15 minutes.
5. tir in the cream cheese and blend it properly.
6. To prepare the toast make bread slices soaked with milk and beaten eggs.
7. In the batter also add a whisk of vanilla and butter. Stir in the flour, cinnamon and pepper.
8. Fill the mixture in the soaked bread slices.
9. They must be soaked atleast for 30-40 seconds per side of the slice.
10. Allow the excess batter to drip down and transfer the bread to a plate.
11. Heat 1 tsp. butter in a saucepan and swirl to coat well. Place the slices on the skillet.
12. Cook the slices till they become crisp and brown.
13. Serve them with the maple syrup, sugar powdered on the toasts and fresh strawberry slices.

The recipe shall be served immediately so that it doesn’t get caky and also tastes best. The content of flour and eggs shall be in a regulated amount for an accurate method.

French toast also known as ‘eggy bread’ is prepared from bread by frying before soaking them into the eggs. It is a versatile dish that can be served as a sweet dish as well as a savoury dish. As a sweet dish the main ingredients used can be milk and sugar while for a savoury dish a pinch of salt shall be added to the fried dish and served with sauce.

Basic Methodology

Bread slices are soaked in a mixture of milk and beaten eggs. They are fried from both the sides and hence cooked thoroughly. You can top up the slices accordingly to your taste buds, you can use butter, jam honey, tomato ketchup etc. If you have buds for sweet then you can consume it as a sweet dish with chocolate or ice cream.

Geographical reach

Bread has been a source of filling stomachs right from the medieval period. Various innovative methods are incorporated to make it more tasteful as well as healthy. Stale bread can be unappetizing so cooking it can make it more appealing. The origin of French toast has been unknown but certain versions of it were seen in fourth century Roman book.
In France and certain other European nations French toast is better known ‘pain perdu’ that means lost bread in French. It is named so in context that it reclaims the stale bread slice. Though French toast being a breakfast food, it is used as a dessert in France. Initially the bread soaked in milk was fried to make a toast but later beaten eggs were used to soak them. This way the stale bread can be toasted to make a healthy breakfast or a snack. A popular snack all around the world there are several modifications done according to the food culture followed in the respective nations.

French Toast Recipes

English style French toast

In United States of America French toast is prepared from ethnic bread or their regional bread. In certain restaurants special bread is prepared from sour dough for the French toast recipe. Jewish Americans use challah for their Friday night dinners. When we travel to Canada the difference comes with the use of golden bread topped with maple syrup.
United Kingdom calls it an egg dip or gypsy toast which is more of to a sweet side. They are available in households only and very rarely make a menu in the cafes. It is a favourite breakfast for the Scotland. There it is served very basic served with warm porridge. Australia and New Zealand take it as a brunch dish done by pan frying. It is served with bananas and fried bacon.
Asia

Western toast is the name given to it in Hong Kong which is available all the day around. It is a popular snack served with afternoon tea. Served with honey and topped with golden syrup it serves an excellent savoy dish as well. French toast is called ‘Meetha toast’ in Pakistan. While Burma calls it ‘Bombay Toast’. Indians prefer the saltier version of the French toast rather sweet dessert.

Though discovered in the medieval, French toast is an absolute method to utilise the stale bread. It being a healthy breakfast is a renowned dish all around the world. When toasted, the bread becomes vulnerable to easily soak milk and eggs. This can be topped up with variety of side ingredients such as jam, maple syrup, honey, nuts and bacon. Further we see the preparation of the basic recipe of French toast.

Serving: 1 Person
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 2 slices of bread
• ¼ cup milk
• Butter/oil

Optional:

• Vanilla extract
• Nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• Salt to taste
• Pepper

Procedure:

1. Beat the eggs in a bowl.
2. Add milk to the beaten eggs and mix them well.
3. Heat butter or oil in a pan to medium temperature.
4. Soak the slices of bread into the mixture of eggs and milk.
5. Brown both the sides of the slice and prepare a toast.
6. Serve hot and add toppings if desired.

You can also serve it as a side dish with sausages, fried mushrooms or beans, tomato etc. the dish can be easily scaled and hence you can multiply the ingredients according to the number of servings.

Tips:
1.    Make sure both the sides of the bread slice gets brown nicely and the centres are cooked properly.
2.    The bread slices shall be evenly soaked in egg and milk whether you are cooking in small batches or for large number of people.
3.    If you are using a small bowl then the bread slices can be placed over each other but make sure to keep flipping them so that the batter gets soaked to the bread evenly.
4.    You can add freshly prepared herbs to enhance the taste of the dish.