I am well aware that no one to whom I am related likes French Toast as much as I do. My attempts to share this special breakfast dish with my children were viewed suspiciously as indoctrination into the foul and horrid. Even before I married and had children, breakfast was a meal one made for one's self, not a group event (my mother worked outside the home from the time I was about nine or ten). I developed French Toast for One when I was in college.
In France, FT is called pain perdu, or lost bread. It's an excellent way to use up stale bread that would otherwise go to the ducks or the landfill. But if you have plain old fresh bread, you can use that, too. Texas Toast is wonderful for the hearty eater, and just this morning I made FT using sliced Italian bread leftover from Sunday dinner. But sandwich bread suits just as well. Be aware that if your bread is thick, you will maybe have to double your recipe if you want more than two slices.
There are lots of ways to make FT, and I confess I really love the breakfast casserole style, letting the bread soak up the egg mixture overnight and then popping it into the oven--yum! But unless we're hosting a bunch of guests on holiday, how many of us know the night before that we want FT for breakfast, and can eat an entire 9x13 pan? Not me, kiddo. So this is an easier, smaller way to get that fried-egg-and-fried-bread goodness.
INGREDIENTS
1 large or extra-large egg, or 2 medium eggs
2-3 Tablespoons milk or cream (or more for thick bread)
1-2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 - 1 teaspoon vanilla
Cinnamon to taste (or spices of your choice, like nutmeg)
2-4 pieces of bread of your choice
Syrup, fruit, powdered sugar, or other toppings of your choice
METHOD
If you are using an iron skillet, start your preheating now. Remember you are not making eggs-over-easy, and cooking through is important here, so your skillet needs to be hot but not SuperHot.
Whisk together egg, milk, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon until well combined. I like to use a larger bowl so that the bread can sit flat in the batter, but a friend in college mixed her batter in a dinner plate with a fork. (Cinnamon floats. Be aware that the first piece of bread in the batter will grab a lot of it, and you may wish to add more cinnamon if you have more than two pieces.)
Dip slices of bread into the batter one or two at a time, depending on how wide your dish is and the size of your bread. Also depending on the thickness of the bread, give it a few seconds to soak in; then flip it over to coat and soak the other side. Thicker bread takes longer. However, you don't want to wait too long. The more batter a piece soaks in, the longer it takes to cook, and your outsides could be blackening while the insides are still mushy raw. When in doubt, keep the soaking time short.
In a greased skillet (I use Pam, but you can use butter, it tastes yummy that way), fry each piece until brown on brown on both sides and cooked through. This is a slower process than one thinks. Medium heat is what you want. Telling it's cooked through can be tricky. Sometimes the bread is just firm again, where it was a little mushy. Sometimes it puffs up. Stick a fork in it to check--you aren't making this for company, you're making it for you, and looks aren't everything. Sometimes I use the spatula to cut the slices in half while they're cooking, to make sure I get the middle just right.
Plate it and smother it with the toppings of your choice. My mother, in ancient days when she still made us breakfast, always served this with powdered sugar. This is not because it's the best way; it's because she hated maple flavoring. Personally, I love maple syrup. But it's good with cherries or peaches (toppings like what you'd put on top of cheesecake) and whipped cream, butter and syrup, powdered sugar and fresh strawberries, or whatever floats your boat.
