In August 1994, Victor was on a plane to Paris on a mission to learn French with a Parisian family. However, he never expected to learn how to make pain perdu, the authentic French toast.
At that time, the culture of France was totally unknown to him.He didn’t speak the language, he didn’t know any of the family members beforehand, and he felt that at the age of 13, the adventure might be too challenging for him.
The first few days were a bit harsh, but little by little he got used to that situation. Besides he was in a wonderful city!
Oui and non was the only thing he knew to answer when spoken to. He always answered, even if he didn’t understand a word of what was being said.
A few weeks later they took a super-fast train to Lyon, and from there they went by car to a cottage in the French Alps. On that trip he was lucky enough to witness the Tour and see Miguel Indurain ride past in his yellow jersey.
The mother of that family taught him to make two very simple French dishes. The first was to boil an egg for 5 minutes, break the top of the shell and dip buttered bread in the yolk. A real treat. The second recipe was the famous pain perdu recipe, the authentic french toast, which consisted of using the leftover bread from the day before and turning it into a sweet delicacy.
How to Make Pain Perdu
1. The bread you can use to make pain perdu can be loaf bread, ciabatta or baguette, preferably stale bread from the day before.
It is best to use stale bread to prepare this dessert, as it holds the egg-milk mixture better without falling apart.
2. In a bowl, add 2 eggs and a pinch of salt. In another bowl, pour 200 ml of milk.
3 . Cut the bread into 0.5/1 inch slices.
4. Grease the pan with a tablespoon of butter and put it over high heat.
5. Dip a bread slice in the milk for one second on each side.
6. Now dip the same slice in the egg for one second on each side.
7. Place the same slice in the greased pan for one minute on one side, or when it starts to brown, and another minute on the other side. Do the same with the rest of the bread slices.
8. Before serving, sprinkle a little sugar on top of the pain perdu… Et voilà! Enjoy eating pain perdu!
French Toast Recipe
French toast is the pain perdu American version and has become a popular dish for brunch or breakfast. Although french toast recipe is similar to pain perdu´s, both are made differently.
The main difference between French toast and pain perdu is the type of bread used. French toast is usually made with sliced bread and pain perdu is made with stale bread. In addition, the french toast recipe is made with ingredients that aren´t in the pain perdu recipe, such as cinnamon, vanilla, and nutmeg. The final dressing is accompanied by maple syrup, jam, sugar or red fruits.
How to Make French Toast
1. In a bowl, pour 100 ml of whole milk and add 2 eggs, a teaspoon of cinnamon, a teaspoon of vanilla sugar, or vanilla extract, a pinch of salt and a pinch of nutmeg. Beat with a whisk and set aside.
It is best to use bread from the day before to prepare this dessert, as it holds the egg-milk mixture better without falling apart or becoming soggy. Some people recommend slicing the bread the night before and letting it dry a little overnight. However, it is also fine to use fresh bread when making this french toast recipe.
2. If you use unsliced bread, slice the bread into four 1-inch slices.
You can use either slice sandwich bread (bimbo) or brioche.
3. Grease the pan with a tablespoon of butter and put it over high fire.
4 . Dip one slice of bread in the egg mixture for 6 seconds on each side.
5. Place the same slice in the greased pan for 40 seconds on one side, or when it starts to brown, and another minute on the other side. Do the same with the rest of the slices.
6. Take the toast out of the pan and drain it briefly on kitchen paper.
7. Now it´s time to dress it with whatever you like: maple syrup, jam, berries, sugar… Et voilà! You have made a delicious French toast!
If you like French desserts, try making this chocolate mousse cake. On the other hand, if you like American desserts, try making either American pancakes , or the famous carrot cake or this banana bread.
French Toast & Pain Perdu
Ingredients
Pain Perdu
- 1 stale loaf bread
- 2 eggs
- 1 pinch of salt
- 200 ml whole milk
- 2 tablespoons sugar
French Toast
- 4 slices of sliced bread
- 2 eggs
- 100 ml whole milk
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar or vanilla extract
- 1 pinch of nutmeg
- 1 pinch of salt
Frying pan
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
Pain Perdu
- In a bowl, add 2 eggs and a pinch of salt. In another bowl, pour 200 ml of milk.
- Cut the bread into 0.5/1 inch slices.
- Grease the pan with a tablespoon of butter and put it over high heat.
- Dip a bread slice in the milk for one second on each side.
- Now dip the same slice in the egg for one second on each side.
- Place the same slice in the greased pan for one minute on one side, or when it starts to brown, and another minute on the other side.
- Before serving, sprinkle a little sugar on top of the pain perdu… Et voilà! Enjoy eating pain perdu!
French Toast
- In a bowl, pour milk and eggs, cinnamon, vanilla, salt and nutmeg. Beat with a whisk and set aside.
- Slice the bread into four 1-inch slices.
- Grease the pan with a tablespoon of butter and put it over high fire.
- Dip one slice of bread in the egg mixture for 6 seconds on each side.
- Place the same slice in the greased pan for 40 seconds on one side, or when it starts to brown, and another 40 seconds on the other side.
- Take the toast out of the pan and drain it briefly on kitchen paper.
- Now it´s time to dress it with whatever you like: maple syrup, jam, berries, sugar… Et voilà! You have made a delicious French toast!
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