Do you enjoy a challenge? Just try finding a loaf of Challah in South County! We finally found one at Schnucks in Frontenac. Another challenge you say? Well, try making this recipe after work... because how difficult can French Toast be? But it was partly my fault for not reading the directions carefully. Ina has you cut the Challah in slices and stack double in a 13X9" pan, then pour the liquid over & let set for 10 minutes-- that seemed like a time improvement on most egg bakes that require overnight soaks. What I didn't notice was the baking directions that made our easy French Toast evening a long one. She has you put the 13x9" pan inside a roasting pan full of hot water (my pan didn't fit in my roaster so I used a Wilton half-sheet) , then you are tenting the whole contraption in foil being careful not to let the foil touch the pudding, cutting vents to allow the steam to escape, baking for 45 minutes, removing foil and then baking for another 45 minutes! It takes a good 30 min. to make, bakes for 90 min., then has to set for at least 15 min.---definitely not a good choice for a quick dinner after work so I disagree with Ina that this recipe is a good example of saving time and reducing stress. This recipe calls for 5 cups of half-&-half (or milk) so considering the rich bread and the 8 EXTRA-LARGE eggs I decided to do half skim milk & half-&-half. The tablespoon of orange zest was a nice touch but I also decided to add 1 tsp. of our Vietnamese Cinnamon.
The toast puffed up like a champ. I served it with maple syrup & a side of fresh fruit. The texture was more "custardy" than we like, the taste extremely rich with just "so-so" flavor. I was glad that I had added the cinnamon otherwise it would have been bland even with the orange zest. I have a recipe for a fresh blueberry French Toast that we like much better so this was a one-timer.
I think you should be a writer. You have such a great sense of humor and I can always picture you making the recipe, the writing is so descriptive. In the picture it looks like it would have been a delicious midnight snack.
ReplyDeleteThanks for saving me the search for Challah. I too will stick with my overnight blueberry french toast recipe. I wonder if we have the same one?