French toast

French toast

French toast served at a restaurant
Place of origin	Europe
Serving temperature	Hot, with toppings
Main ingredients	Bread, eggs
Ingredients generally used	Milk or cream, herbs, spices, sauces, syrups
Variations	Sweet
Cookbook: French toast   Media: French toast

French toast is a dish of sliced bread soaked in beaten eggs and often milk or cream, then pan-fried. Alternative names and variants include eggy bread,^[1] Bombay toast, gypsy toast,^[2] and poor knights (of Windsor).^[3]

When French toast is served as a sweet dish, sugar, vanilla, or cinnamon are also commonly added before pan-frying, and then it may be topped with sugar (often powdered sugar), butter, fruit, or syrup. When it is a savory dish, it is generally fried with a pinch of salt or pepper, and it can then be served with a sauce such as ketchup or mayonnaise.^[4][5][6][7]

This dish occurs in various forms and under different names in many places, but this article calls it "French toast" for convenience.^[8]

The usual French name is pain perdu (French: [pɛ̃ pɛʁdy] ^ⓘ 'lost bread', reflecting its use of stale or otherwise "lost" bread. It may also be called pain doré 'golden bread' in Canada.^[9]

Some authors consider the recipe for Aliter Dulcia (translated as 'Another sweet dish') included in the Apicius, a 1st-century CE Ancient Roman cuisine cookbook, "not very different" from modern French toast, although it does not involve eggs.^[10][11]

In Le Viandier, culinary cookbook written around 1300, the French chef Guillaume Taillevent presented a recipe for tostées dorées^[12] involving eggs and sugar.^[13]

A 14th-century German recipe uses the name Arme Ritter 'poor knights',^[14][15] a name also used in English^[3] and the Nordic languages.

In the 15th century, there are English recipes for pain perdu^[14][16][17] and culinary expert Martino da Como also offers a recipe.^[18]

In Spain, one of the first recipes was published in 1611 by Francisco Martínez Motiño [es].^[19]

An Austrian and Bavarian term is Pofesen because the shape of the dish is reminiscent of medieval knights' shields from the city of Pavia.^[20][21] In Hungary, it is commonly called bundáskenyér (lit. 'fluffy bread').^[22]

In Ottoman cuisine, a dish of bread soaked in eggs with honey but no milk is called fāvniyye.^[23]

Slices of bread are soaked or dipped in a mixture of beaten eggs, often whisked with milk or cream. Sliced or artisan loaves cut to 3⁄4–1 in (1.9–2.5 cm) thick are frequently used as the bread of choice.^[24] Sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla may be variously added to the mixture. The bread is then fried in butter or olive oil until browned and cooked through. Day-old bread is often used, both for its thrift and because it will soak up more egg mixture without falling apart.^[25]

The cooked slices may be served with sugar or sweet toppings such as caramel, ice cream, jam, honey, fruit,^[26] or maple syrup.

There are many variations. The dipping mixture might not include eggs^[27] and the bread may be soaked in wine, rosewater, or orange juice, either before or after cooking.^[28][29]

In Southern Slavic countries, such as Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia, it is called prženice, pohane šnite, moče or ribanjke. It is eaten sweet or savory and paired with ajvar, jam, cheese, prosciutto, or sausage.^[30] In Romania, it is known as frigănele and almost always served as a savory dish without milk, although milk can be requested at most dinners.^[31]

In both Portugal and Brazil, rabanadas are a traditional Christmas dessert.^[32] Many recipes often use Tinto or Port wine.^[33]

In Denmark, arme riddere ('poor knights') is a sweet breakfast dish that can also be eaten as an afternoon treat or evening dessert. The Danish version of this dish uses sugar with cinnamon instead of plain sugar.^[34][35]

In Finland, köyhät ritarit ('poor knights') is a dessert made by frying slices of wheat bread soaked in milk. Sometimes, a dried bun (pulla) is also used instead of wheat bread. An egg can also be mixed into milk and if desired, a little sugar and wheat flour can be added. The slices are dipped on both sides in the milk mixture before frying. Usually poor knights are eaten warm with jam and whipped cream. In some lunch restaurants, a dessert made of bun slices is called rich knights. This is to make a difference to the poor knights made of French bread or other light bread. The name rich knights comes from the whipped cream crown. The poor knights have no whipped cream.

In France, pain perdu ('lost bread') has a wide range of regional variations.^[36]

In Georgia it is known as kikliko (Georgian: ყიყლიყო, romanized: q'iq'liq'o). It is a popular dish for brunch or breakfast and is almost always served as a savory dish. Sometimes different kinds of cheese are also combined.^[37][38]

In Germany, Arme Ritter ('poor knights') or Pofesen are at least known since the 14th century (mentioned in Deutsches Wörterbuch (The German Dictionary) by the Brothers Grimm).^[39]

In Greece, it is known as Avgofetes (Greek: Αυγόφετες) or Avgopsomo (Greek: Αυγόψωμο). This dish is a breakfast staple that involves dipping bread in scrambled eggs and frying it. It can be enjoyed in either a savory or sweet flavor profile, with a range of toppings and accompaniments, such as feta and honey.

Hong Kong-style French toast (Chinese: 西多士; Cantonese Yale: sāidōsí; lit. 'western toast') is typically prepared by combining multiple slices of bread with peanut butter or fruit jam filling, then dipping in beaten egg and deep frying.^[40] It is served with butter, and topped with golden syrup or honey.^[40][41] It is a typical offering in cha chaan teng (Hong Kong-style diners or teahouses).^[41] Other types of filling that can be found are meat floss, kaya jam, ham, or beef satay.^[40][42]

In Hungary French toasts are called bundáskenyér ("bread in fur coat") and are often eaten with garlic, cheese and sausage or ham. It is a popular breakfast item, mostly eaten next to a cup of tea.

In India, Bombay toast is a dish sold on the streets of Mumbai by hawkers and vendors,^[43] Bombay toast is also called Sweet French Bread.^[44]

In Norway, the dish is called arme riddere ('poor knights'). Once only a dessert dish, it is now eaten for brunch or breakfast. Most common spices are cinnamon and cardamom.^[45][46]

French toast is a familiar menu item in the hawker centres of Singapore, where it is often part of a breakfast set with soft-boiled eggs or coconut jam (kaya).

Torrija^[14] is a similar recipe traditionally prepared in Spain for Lent and Holy Week. It is usually made by soaking stale bread in milk or wine with honey and spices. It is dipped in beaten egg and fried with olive oil. This cooking technique breaks down the fibres of the bread and results in a pastry with a crispy outside and smooth inside.^[47] It is often sprinkled with cinnamon as a final touch.

Torrijas or torrejas were first mentioned by the Spanish composer, poet and playwright Juan del Encina (1468–1533) in his Cancionero, published in 1496. "Anda acá pastor" has the following verse:

En cantares nuevos gocen sus orejas, miel y muchos huevos para hacer torrejas, aunque sin dolor parió al Redentor.[48]

In new songs enjoy your ears, honey and many eggs to make torrejas, although without pain gave birth to the Redeemer.

In the Netherlands, French toast is called wentelteefjes, verloren brood ('lost bread'), or gewonnen brood ('reclaimed bread'). It is a sweet breakfast dish that can also be eaten as an afternoon treat or evening dessert. The Dutch version of this dish often uses sugar with cinnamon instead of plain sugar. Wentelteefjes are often associated with childhood, where a grandmother provides her grandchildren with a luxurious special sweet breakfast on special occasions.^{[citation needed]}

In the UK and Ireland, it is also known as eggy bread or occasionally Gypsy toast, a name which dates back to the 14th and 15th centuries. It was also called Pamperdy or Poor Knights Pudding. Eggy bread can be served as a sweet or savoury dish.^[49] The other names refer to the sweet version.^[2] A commercial product known as French toast is sold in packets in supermarkets but this typically contains no egg and is more similar to Melba toast.^[50]

French toast was popularly served in railroad dining cars of the early and mid-20th century. The Santa Fe was especially known for its French toast, and some railroads provided recipes for these and other dining car offerings to the public as a promotional feature.^[51] The dish is commonly eaten with butter, powdered sugar, and maple syrup. Other toppings include jam, whipped cream, and fruit.^[52]

In New Orleans Louisiana Creole cuisine, French toast is known as pain perdu and is most commonly served as a breakfast dish.^[53] The recipe calls for New Orleans-style French bread; the batter is an egg-based custard that may include spirits.^[53][54][55] Common toppings include cane syrup, strongly flavored honey, or fruit syrups; a dusting of powdered sugar is also traditional.^[54][55]

• Claiborne, Craig (1985). Craig Claiborne's The New York Times Food Encyclopedia. New York: Times Books. ISBN 0-8129-1271-3.
• Farmer, Fannie (1918). The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book. Boston: Little, Brown and Co.
• Mariani, John F. (1999). The Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink. New York: Lebhar-Friedman. ISBN 0-86730-784-6.
• Redon, Odilie (1998). The Medieval Kitchen: Recipes from France and Italy. Chicago: Univ. Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-70684-2.