Basic French Toast Recipe:

There are many different recipes for French toast; I know of almost a hundred and I'm sure there are more. However, the basic recipe is:

• Take some slices of bread (preferably thick and somewhat stale slices)
• Soaked the bread in a mixture of egg and milk
• Add sugar and or spices (depending on recipe)
• Fry on both sides until golden brown

Most recipes call for sugar and/or spices. Maple syrup is also a common addition (particularly in Canada and the USA).

Stale Bread:

French toast recipes work better with stale bread than with fresh. To understand why, think of the bread as a sponge. A wet sponge cannot absorb much more liquid. Likewise, fresh bread has a high moisture content whereas stale bread is dry, allowing it to absorb more liquid. Consequently, stale bread can better absorb the egg and milk mixture.

Of course, the recipe will work with fresh bread. However, if you plan in advance to make French bread, you may want to slice your bread and allow it to dry a bit.

Recipes:

Although the basic recipe for French toast is simple, there are hundreds of variations:

• Sweet Variations. One can add sugar in various forms to make sweet French toast. Examples include granulated sugar, powered sugar, maple syrup, honey, jam and so on.
• Savory Variations. There are a number of different spices (e.g. cinnamon, vanilla) which can be added to the batter.
• Assorted. One can add various other ingredients, such as raisons, depending on individual preferences.
• Fried or Baked. Traditionally, the recipe calls for frying the soaked bread. However, modern versions also include baking.

Here are some popular version:

French Toast-Topped with Powdered Sugar

French Toast- Sweet and Salty

French Toast with Cinnamon and Vanilla

French Toast with Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Vanilla

Baked French Toast

Baked French Toast with Apples and Raisons

French toast is popular (mainly as a breakfast meal) in North America, parts of Europe and China. The origin of French toast is uncertain, as is its name. Recipes dating back to the sixteenth century have been found, and it appears to have been widespread throughout Europe. Each country appears to have had its own name for it:

• In France, it was called "pain perdu" (lost bread), as it was a way of using bread that had gone stale and would otherwise perhaps be thrown away (in other words, lost bread).
• In England, it has been called "Poor Knight's Pudding" or "Poor Knight's of Windsor". Again, this may be a reference to the use of stale bread, so it is associated with the need of poor people to not throw away food. The reference to Knight is less certain, but as eggs and milk would have perhaps been beyond the normal means of a poor peasant, the meal is perhaps more applicable to a Poor Knight (who, although relatively poor, would be more able than the average peasant to afford the eggs and milk).
• A similar pattern is to be found in Finland, where the basic recipe was called "köyhät ritarit" (poor knight's) but if sugar and jam were added (relatively expensive ingredients at the time) it was called "rikkaat ritarit" (rich knight's).
• In America there were a number of names for the recipe, but it was perhaps most commonly known as "German Toast" prior to World War I. However, anti-German sentiment at that time resulted in it being renamed to "French Toast". Since 2003 the anti-French sentiment in parts of the USA resulting from opposing positions over the Iraq war has resulted in it being renamed to "Freedom Toast" in the White House, US Congress and some restaurants. At about the same time these institutions also renamed "French Fries" to "Freedom Fries".

French Toast - Nutrition:

French toast is a sound meal, provided one doesn't use too much sugar. The bread provides carbohydrates, the egg protein, the milk calcium and other nutrients. It is also relatively cheak as eggs are relatively cheap and one can use stale bread that would otherwise be thrown away. The trick is to use a recipe that does not call for a lot of sugar (or, to only use such recipes occasionally as a special treat). We provide both types of recipes at www.food-worldwide.com.