At its roots, French Toast is essentially bread dipped in a batter of milk and eggs, sauteed in butter. At present, the French Toast recipe has evolved a great deal; The variations of the popular breakfast dish can be broadly classified into two categories: Sweet French Toast and Savory French Toast. While the Sweet French Toast goes well with side dishes such as fresh fruits, grilled peaches, caramelised bananas and syrup, the Savoury French Toast can be enjoyed with scrambled eggs and bacon.
Is French Toast Really French?
According to a popular legend, the popular breakfast dish, which most think to be an invention by the French, was created by Joseph French in 1724, who advertised the dish as ‘French Toast’. However, based on similar recipes found around the world, variations of french toast date as early as 5th Century A.D. It was only in 1871, did the term ‘French Toast’ first make an appearance in print, in Encyclopaedia of American Food and Drink. The Americans named it French Toast because it was popularised by French immigrants living in America. In the global context, French Toast also goes by the name of Nun’s Toast, Eggy Bread, Gypsy Toast, German Toast, and Lost Bread (Pain Perdu in French).
Ingredients
French Toast can be cooked two ways: sweet or salty, depending on one’s taste palate. The ingredients required to create both of these dishes are:
Sweet French Toast
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- 3 tsp sugar
- 5 tsp butter
- 2 eggs
- 500 ml milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
- 8 slices bread of your choice
- Garnish
- Honey
- Fresh fruits and mint leaves
- Powdered sugar
Savoury French Toast
- Few slices of bread
- 2 whole Eggs
- 1/2 cup medium onions chopped
- Green Chilli as per your liking
- Some sprigs of Coriander Leaves
- 2 tbsp Parmesan Cheese grated ( optional)
- 1/2 cup Milk
- 3-4 cloves of garlic
- Salt & Pepper as required
- 2 tbsp Oil
- 1/4 cup of bell peppers chopped
- Garnish with Mint
Sweet french toast | Pexels
To prepare the Sweet French Toast, follow these steps:
- Break the eggs and whisk well. Add sugar to this and give it a mix
- Add vanilla essence and cinnamon powder to this
- Add milk and mix well till the sugar dissolves
- Slice bread as per your choice
- Heat butter in a pan. Once it melts, dip the bread slice in the batter and place it over butter.
- Toast it on both sides and plate it
- To compliment the dish with some healthy add ons, garnish it with fruits of your choice
To cook Savoury French Toast, follow these steps:
- Break the eggs in a bowl and whisk well
- Add bell peppers along with onions, chopped garlic and ginger, green chillies, black pepper and salt
- Grate Parmesan cheese over it and mix everything well. Add cold milk to this.
- Heat oil in a pan
- Dip the bread into the batter and place the vegetables over the bread
- Place the bread slices in the pan and toast well on both sides
- Cheese lovers can garnish the toast with grated Parmesan cheese
French Toast, sweet or savoury, is one of the most popular breakfast choices around the world. It is extremely delicious, customisable to both sweet and savoury taste buds, easy to cook, and required every-day ingredients like milk, bread and eggs. While in Europe, the dish leans more towards the sweeter palettes, in countries like Scotland, traditionally, French Toast is served as a sandwich with a sausage in between slices, and ketchup. Fun fact: This year’s National French Toast Day is just around the corner, celebrated on 28th of November. So, get ready to join the celebration by cooking a sweet or savoury french toast following this 2 in 1 French Toast Recipe.
