You know those piles of discount panettone that popped up on Boxing Day? Don’t pass them by. For the low, low price of a couple bucks you can have phenomenal French toast well into the new year.
For the uninitiated, panettone is a decadent Italian holiday tradition in bread form. Rich in butter and dried fruits it has sweetness aplenty and an eggy crumb strong enough to hold it all together deliciously.
When I brave the considerable effort to make panettone from scratch it takes me hours and usually costs about five bucks a loaf if I’m lucky considering the cost of butter and dried fruits. Before Christmas a ready-made loaf will cost you double that but once the season ends stores want rid of them quick at a steep discount. Who am I to argue with that kind of math?
Luckily for us enriched bread usually has a very long shelf life and actually improves with a measured amount of age… unlike me. I make French toast (aka, pain perdu, golden bread, et. al.) well into February as a sort of traditional annual bounty from the bargain loaves. Plenty to not want any more for eleven months.
Panettone French Toast
500 ml whole milk (do not use skim nor cream)
1 large egg from a happy chicken
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/2 vanilla bean split and scraped of seeds
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
2-3 slices from a large panettone loaf, 1/2-inch thick *
1-2 tablespoons unsalted butter, split
Optional:
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
zest of one orange, lemon, or other citrus
1 tablespoon cognac or brandy
* any thicker and it will be difficult to fully cook the interior before scorching the exterior
Yield: 2-3 generous slices
(can be scaled to any amount)
Preheat your oven to a very low 120C (250F) to both warm your plates and serve as a holding area if making more than just a few slices.
Preheat a heavy pan, cast iron or similar, on medium-low heat (no hotter!) for a full seven minutes. Meanwhile whisk together all ingredients except the bread and butter in a wide bowl large enough to accommodate the bread slices with room all around.
Working so that your pan is not crowded, soak each bread slice briefly, turning once in the bowl then lifting to drain of excess for a few seconds. Add 1/4 tablespoon butter to the hot pan to melt then immediately place a soaked slice of bread on top. Cook slowly on each side to golden brown, anywhere from 2-4 minutes per side depending on your equipment. It is important to cook slowly and over low heat so the outside of the toast does not scorch before the creamy interior custard is fully cooked. French toast is not a race.
Park in the warmed oven as necessary and then serve immediately on warmed plates with more butter and warmed (maple) syrup or dusted with icing sugar. Strong tea or black coffee to cut through the sweetness is recommended. Trust me, you’ll need it as much as an hour of shovelling snow afterwards to burn a few calories.
-msh v.1.5
