What qualities should I be looking for when making the best French Toast?
Should it be a thick slice of bread? Should it be made with challah bread? Should it be slightly crispy and brown on the outside but mushy on the inside?
Best Answer
Great french toast starts with the bread. You're looking for two things: thick slices, and staleness. Why stale? Stale bread has enough firmness to stand up to the custard. If you don't have stale bread available, you can set it out the night before in a simple wire rack. At least 8 hours should be enough to stale it up nicely. They will be rather firm to the touch.
The ideal finished product is crispy on the outside and creamy in the middle. This might be what you mean by mushy, but mushy in my mind is kind of negative. The key to accomplishing this is to let your bread soak in the custard only 30 seconds per side, but then move it to a rack to sit for another 2 minutes further. This extra set time allows the custard to penetrate deep inside the bread, and be distributed much more evenly.
The final trick to getting a nice crispy crust, is to cook it twice. First in the pan/griddle as you normally would, but then 5 minutes in a 375 F oven on a rack. This brief oven stint crisps up the exterior nicely.
I highly suggest watching Alton Brown's Good Eats: French Toast episode. That's where I learned the oven trick, and his recipe hasn't done me wrong since.
Regarding challah, I've never had it, but based on the Wikipedia description it sure sounds like a good candidate. Just make sure you slice and stale it overnight.
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What is the key to good french toast?
What you need to make the best French toast- Eggs: this coats the bread and gives it a crisp crust when cooked.
- Milk: makes a creamy coating over the bread when mixed with eggs.
- Cinnamon: gives it that comforting flavor.
- Vanilla: the secret ingredient that will take this French toast recipe to the top!
What should the consistency of French toast be?
It soaks up a custard for a creamy texture on the inside and a slightly crunchy texture on the outside. If the bread is very thin, it will be too flimsy to hold together when dipped in the custard. If it's too thick, it will never cook to the center. The ideal thickness for a slice of French toast is 3/4" to 1" thick.What should french toast look like?
The ideal French toast is browned and crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. It is not dry and it is not soggy.What does good French toast taste like?
What does French Toast taste like? It's sort of like Bread and Butter pudding. Custardy on the inside with buttery crispy golden edges, it's even great to eat plain but, like pancakes, ideal for smothering in maple syrup!More answers regarding what qualities should I be looking for when making the best French Toast?
Answer 2
Challah is indeed wonderful for French Toast, as is brioche. The breads are already rich with eggs so that gives them a head start.
A style that I learned about from Molly Wizenberg's book, A Homemade Life, is to cook it the toast in rather more oil than you would normally expect to use. This results in a crispy, almost fried crust and a creamy interior that I think is delicious.
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