French toast is a delicious breakfast that is so fast to make, families can eat it on busy weekdays. On weekends, it assumes the mantle of a special meal – and one that kids can make themselves.
Making this eggy bread requires stove-top cooking, so young children will need strict supervision. Slightly older and more confident kids can make it with minimal adult supervision – although it is always advisable for an adult to be in the room when kids cook anything.
What is French Toast?
In France, French toast is called pain perdue. This means “lost bread” and was most likely dreamed up as a way to use slightly stale bread.
Oddly enough, in France it’s considered dessert! Only in America do we eat French toast for breakfast and brunch.
It’s easy to understand how French toast could be thought of as dessert. Wouldn’t it taste excellent with sweetened fresh peaches or berries, a scoop of ice cream, and a drizzle of chocolate sauce?
Of course, it tastes equally delightful drenched in maple syrup and served alongside crispy bacon.
Recipe for Success
Any sort of bread can be used for French toast. Most people prefer white bread – but don’t limit yourself to pre-sliced white bread. This is very good, but so is thick-sliced peasant bread, brioche (egg bread), or French bread.
To make French toast, begin by whisking eggs in a shallow dish. Stir them with a fork or small wire whisk until the yolks and whites are broken up. Add milk or cream and, if you like, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, or other flavorings, and whisk until the mixture is foamy.
This is a task the youngest kids can perform. Older ones can break the eggs and then turn the work over to the little ones.
Dip the bread into the egg, turning it so that it’s saturated with the egg. The bread is now ready to cook.
If you are using thick slices of bread, lay them in a shallow pan and pour the egg mixture over them. Make sure the egg covers the bread. Let the bread soak for five or 10 minutes so that it absorbs the egg through and through.
If it’s easier, let the bread slices soak for an hour or so. Refrigerate them during soaking! This way, you can plan ahead.
Cook Until Golden
French toast really does turn gold as it cooks. When it looks golden brown on both sides, it’s ready.
Cook the saturated bread in a large skillet or on a flat griddle. Make sure to melt the butter until it foams before putting the bread in the pan. Take care when transporting the bread to the pan – it’s so soft from the egg it can easily tear.
Take care, too, when turning the bread. As it cooks, it firms up but it still may rip. Use a wide spatula to turn French toast over and to lift it from the pan.
Let the older kids cook the French toast. The little kids can find the maple syrup, jam, honey, or confectioners’ sugar, all of which taste so good on fresh-from-the-stove French toast. And this is the only way to eat it: hot and fresh!