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German Toast
3 eggs 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons sugar 1 cup milk 6 slices stale bread Beat eggs slightly, add salt, sugar, and milk; strain into a shallow dish. Soak bread in mixture until soft. Cook on a hot, well-greased griddle; brown on one side, turn and brown other side. Serve for breakfast or luncheon, or with a sauce for dessert.
This is French toast under its older American name, and the method needs almost no translation. The only real variables are the bread and the heat.
- Stale bread is the pointDay-old bread absorbs the custard without collapsing; fresh soft sandwich bread turns to paste. Slices about 3/4 inch thick, left uncovered to dry for several hours or overnight, behave best.
- Straining the custardPassing the beaten egg mixture through a sieve removes the stringy white and any bits of shell, so the coating cooks smooth rather than in ragged patches. Worth doing.
- How long to soak"Until soft" means the slice is saturated but still lifts in one piece -- roughly 20 to 30 seconds a side for firm bread, less for anything softer. If the slice sags in the middle, it has had too long.
- Griddle heatThe recipe says only 'hot'; in practice a moderate heat, around 350F on an electric griddle, gives the best result. Hotter and the egg browns before the interior sets; cooler and the bread soaks up grease. Allow about 3 minutes a side.
- GreasingButter alone will brown and burn over the several batches this recipe makes. Clarified butter, or butter cut with a neutral oil, holds up better and gives a similar flavour.
- YieldSix slices, so two to three servings. The custard quantity is generous; a seventh or eighth slice will usually fit.
- For dessertThe suggested sauce was probably a thin sweet pudding sauce or stewed fruit. Warm maple syrup, a fruit compote, or lightly sweetened cream all suit it.