French toast is a very flexible recipe. There are hundreds of different variations and it can be:

• fried or baked
• Prepared and served immediately, or prepared ahead of time and stored overnight
• Depending on the ingredients (eg savory or sweet), it is suitable for breakfast, main meal or dessert.

This article provides an overview of the different recipes and describes how to make French toast. It also discusses the history of this recipe and interesting trivia. Although there are many different recipes, the basic steps and ingredients are:

• Slices of bread (preferably hard bread)
• A mixture of egg and milk, in which bread is soaked. Some of the richer recipes will also use cream.
• Sugar and/or spices. Depending on the recipe, these can be added during preparation or they can be added after cooking. Maple syrup is a popular sugar substitute, especially in Canada and the United States. Common spices include nutmeg, vanilla, and cinnamon.
• Fry or bake the soaked bread, depending on the recipe.

The origin of French toast is uncertain but recipes dating back to the 16th century are documented. The recipe is of European origin, but not necessarily French, as variations are found in many European countries, but it is now unknown which country was originally the creator. In fact, given the basic and common nature of the ingredients, along with the simplicity of preparation, it may well have developed independently in several different countries. The name is also not a clue to its origin, as it goes by different names in different countries. In English-speaking countries, it is known as “French toast”, supposedly the name given to it during the Hundred Years War by English soldiers serving in France, who often had little else to eat (although this explanation is not supported). definitely proven). . Before the Hundred Years War, it was known in England as “Poor Knight’s Pudding” or “Poor Knight’s of Windsor”, perhaps because it would have been a basic but affordable dish for a Knight with little money. In other countries, this recipe receives different names. In France, it was called “pain perdu” (lost bread) as it was a way of using up bread that had gone stale and might otherwise be thrown away (in other words, lost bread). A similar pattern is found in Finland, where the basic recipe was called “köyhät ritarit“(poor gentleman) but if you added sugar and jam (relatively expensive ingredients at the time) it was called “rikkaat ritarit(Rich Knight).

In America there were various names for the recipe, but it was perhaps most commonly known as “German Toast” before World War I. However, anti-German sentiment at the time caused it to be renamed “French Toast”. Since 2003, anti-French sentiment in parts of the US as a result of opposing positions on the Iraq war has resulted in it being renamed “Freedom Toast” in the White House, US Congress USA and some restaurants. At about the same time, these institutions also changed the name from “French Fries” to “Freedom Fries”.

Several different recipes and more information on French toast are provided in How to Make French Toast. The following is a typical recipe:

Ingredients for 4 people):

• 12 slices of bread (thick cut). Slightly stale bread is best as it will absorb the batter mixture better. If you don’t have stale bread, you can leave sliced ​​fresh bread out for a while to dry out a bit.
• 6 eggs
• 3/4 cup of milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preparation

• beat the eggs
• Add milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Mix with the beaten eggs.
• Dip the slices of bread in the mixture.
• Fry the soaked bread on one side until golden, then flip and fry until the other side is golden. Use a nonstick skillet or add butter to a regular skillet to prevent the French toast from sticking to the pan.
• Attend. Depending on individual tastes, sugar can be sprinkled or maple syrup added on top.

The above recipe can easily be changed by using different spices (eg, nutmeg) during preparation or by providing different toppings (eg, jam) that diners can add. It can be made richer by using a little cream, or more suitable for a main meal with non-sweet toppings. Finally, there are several versions of this recipe that are based on baking instead of frying. Click on the link above to see examples.