St. Louisans aren’t snow people. A few flakes can send us scrambling home; a dusting can shut down schools and upend child care plans.
But when a big winter storm looms, we all bolt to the grocery store for the same thing: eggs, milk and bread. It’s the French toast rush. Why? Well, French toast is easy to make and delicious — the kind of comfort food you need while the world is tumbling down outside our windows.
I tend to wing my recipe, gathering however many slices of bread are in the pantry and mixing up the eggs I have on hand with what seems like a correct amount of milk. I spike it with a liberal dash of vanilla and cinnamon and start dipping and frying up slices willy-nilly.
It’s good, but there are better out there — and we ran down two from a couple of experts.
The extra French toast
The first recipe comes from Claire Saffitz, celebrated cookbook author of “Dessert Person” and “What’s for Dessert?” and former star of Bon Appétit’s "Gourmet Makes" videos. (She is also a Clayton High School grad.)
Saffitz told STLPR she actually wasn’t the biggest French toast fan when she was younger. “We ate French toast growing up because my sister loved it (me not so much) but probably had it as often as we had pancakes or matzo brie,” she said via text. “Just not waffles!”
But that’s changed, and she has a tutorial for perfectly caramelized French toast on the Claire Saffitz x Dessert Person YouTube channel. The recipe is all about getting a crackly, caramelized glaze akin to the top layer of a crème brûlée. I had to rewind and rewatch when I saw her sprinkle sugar on her griddle and then flip the custard-soaked bread onto it.
The recipe might seem a bit extra for the home cook, but it really wasn’t difficult — you can see my nonprofessional attempt at re-creating the dish above. But if you don’t want to try the whole recipe, there are still some techniques you could pick up. Saffitz toasts her bread so it holds up better in the custard. And she mixes the eggs and dairy with an immersion blender to get a totally smooth consistency and eliminate egg-white streaks in the bread. She also soaks the thick-cut toast for 20 minutes before cooking so that there are no dry spots.
To make her version, you’ll need four eggs and two yolks, ½ cup whole milk, ½ cup heavy cream, 1 tsp vanilla, a pinch of cinnamon, 2 tbsp butter, 4 tbsp sugar, challah (or another brioche loaf) and maple syrup for serving. Watch the video for her technique.
A classic French toast
Our second recipe comes from Joe Stein, co-owner and chef of the recently opened cafe, Ozzy’s Market. If you’ve eaten bread at a restaurant in St. Louis in the last decade or so and thought seriously about its deliciousness, there’s a good chance that Stein baked it. He also ran a cottage baking business, A.Bun.Dance. Bakery.
Stein likes to keep his recipe pretty simple and forgoes sugar in the mix because he finds it browns too quickly.
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup of milk (half-and-half if you’re feeling sassy)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp of warming spices of choice such as nutmeg, clove or allspice
- Pinch of salt
- 8 slices of soft bread such as Wonder bread or challah (Stale or dried works better for soaking, and if slicing your own go for a thicker slice like Texas toast)
- Oil for cooking
Directions
- Whisk the eggs, salt and spices together in a large bowl until the eggs are homogeneous. Add the milk and whisk until blended.
- Add 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet and heat on medium until the oil shimmers.
- While that’s heating, dip the first round of bread — 2-3 slices depending on pan size. Just dip and flip to coat, but if the bread is stale or dried you can let the slices sit for 20 to 30 seconds to absorb more liquid. Fresh slices should get a quick dip as they tend to get soggy.
- Using a fork or spatula, lift them out of the custard and let the excess drip back into the bowl. Put the dipped slices in the hot skillet and cook 2 to 3 minutes on each side, checking the bottom halfway through.
- Flip when browned to your likeness and cook the other side. Repeat till all slices are used.
- Serve with butter and syrup of your choice or get fancy with jam, Nutella, speculoos, banana slices or fresh berries.
