It’s one of life’s little mysteries: The French didn’t invent, and typically don’t make, French toast. With their leftover bread they might bake up some pain perdu (bread pudding, which is baked, not fried), and serve it for dessert. But “French toast “ in a skillet? Non. And for breakfast, never.
Nor, for that matter, did French fries originate in France (they’re from Belgium). And don’t get Nicole, our châtelaine, started on “French fried onion rings”. An American visitor once brought her some from the states, in a can (the kind that go on green bean casserole). She was completely baffled “Why would they call them French?” she sniffed. “We don’t batter-fry onions, and if we did we would never put them in a can!”
Go figure. Anyway, I love French toast, so why not make it really French and decadent, from a loaf of brioche? Which is exactly what I did, and I served it for dinner, to shake things up a bit. If you can’t get your hands on brioche, challah will do nicely.
Another advantage: It’s quick. The night I was making it, it was 7pm, and Ron was getting a bit antsy. “You haven’t started dinner yet”, he said (knowing that after a nice glass of white Burgundy for apperos, I’ve been known to forget that there’s cooking to be done). But by 7:20, the French toast was on the table.
I made two quick toppings: a fresh raspberry peach compote, and caramelized bananas with Gran Marnier. For meat eaters, a couple of slices of bacon would round out the meal, but we were just fine with our not-quite-French French toast.
RECIPE: Brioche French toast with Two Toppings
For the toast, I used Sam Sifton’s recipe for French toast Amandine, which turned out perfect. Then I made these toppings:
Topping #1: Stir together fresh peaches and raspberries, sprinkle lightly with sugar to make them juicy, and stir.
Topping #2: Melt a bit of butter in a skillet over medium heat and add a couple of sliced bananas. Toss well to coat and stir in a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar. Cook, stirring, until sugar melts and mixture bubbles, just a minute or two. Add a splash of Gran Marnier and boil for a minute, until mixture thickens to a thin syrup.
Sprinkle French toast with confectioner’s sugar and serve with toppings.
In the Comments: Want more photos and info on L'isle sur la Sorgue? Go to the post on that fun town at Kim Defforge's blog, 24/7 in France.
Those of you who love Tom Vieth's French paintings of the Dordogne (see the Small Village in France blog) will be happy to know he has made some of them into tea towels and silk scarves. See them at Lily O's.
16 thoughts on “A French Dish That Isn’t Really French”
We have ‘French’ toast every week with our groups….at least one day. The difference in our American version and the French version is that he soaks the stale brioche in milk THEN passes it through beaten egg seasoned with nutmeg, vanilla. Cooks it in butter, turns and sprinkles with raw sugar, turns again after this side caramelizes and does the same sugar thing on the other side. INCROYABLE. No syrup or powdered sugar needed. The caramelization of the sugar in the skillet is perfect.
In response to Mary-James:
Aha! Perhaps it is a regional thing. The French folks I asked here in Burgundy said they had never heard of pain perdu made in a skillet, only in the oven. But it seems that your amis Provençal have a different technique. Must try it!
Great timing once again Lynn…I have been craving French toast, or pain perdu and looking for recipes! Your toppings sound lovely and the post from Mary-James also very helpful. I did find maple syrup at our supermarche however may forego it in lieu of the fruit and/or sugar suggestions. Bravo again.
Born and raised in Burgundy (Nievre), we used to make pain perdu very often, cooked in a skillet, never the oven. It was the perfect afternoon snack. Once in a while, we used yesterday’s left over bread but mostly from a day old brioche. I am new to your blog so I have some catching up to do.
Sounds delightful on this 4th of July Morning. Cheers from Racine!!!Ellen
I love that “pain perdu” is “lost bread”… thick sliced day old baguettes can be just dandy if soaked in eggy milk for a bit (especially if you add a bit of brandy or cognac and some currants). My friends near Toulouse make this on the stove top, about the only time they use butter in a skillet (rather than olive oil) Mmmm… And, very appropriate to have this on 14 juillet (which only the Americans call “Bastille Day”, I think) since the (French) revolution was all about the price of bread, right? 😉
Oh la la – hungry NOW!
Decadent! And here I thought the French invented it all!
love French toast….
Just had a lively discussion with Xavier and his parents re:pain perdu….they say it is always in a skillet as stated above and that this is also true for the French speaking side of Belgium. However, in my cookbook, I included ‘Pain Perdu aux Pruneaux et Lardons’, a combo of leftover rye bread, prunes and bacon (bread pudding??). Xavier, the Frenchman, named it! I find it amusing that now he says that is not a true pain perdu. Frenchmen can never be wrong LOL! Bottom line, I guess there are many interpretations.
Very interesting discussion on French toast that I just read, while watching France vs Germany in the World Cup. It’s 1-0, Germany; go France! Or Vive La France!!!
I used to like French toast, haven’t liked it more recently since I don’t eat much sugar, but the idea of topping with fresh fruit makes me think I’d love that; I always used fruit to top my pancakes. I also like the idea of using brioche, and happen to have some frozen, that I bought at a really good deli/restaurant in Louisville where I get great brioche.
Great post, love reading about food. We live in Northern NY where maple syrup is readily available. That is what we prefer and it’s the same in Québec, just minutes away.
My belle mere used to make their cuisine’s version of French toast from their day old French bread;it was used as a savory accompaniment to fried food- chicken,pork schnitzels,whatever–never for breakfast.
Lynn, your version with those heavenly sauces is nothing short of inspired.Wow! THANK YOU!
Whole Foods here now carries an imported(from France) brioche loaf that is delicious. I made Croque Monsiuer/Madame with it and was great.
The photos you have here are definitely drool worthy Lynn. I’m going to try this, however, this will be an evening dessert for me since this type of thing doesn’t settle in my stomach too well in the morning.
Pain Perdu in Cajun land is French toast. Bread pudding is bread pudding.
We love French toast and cook it once in a while, served with fresh fruit. Yours looks delicious! May be it’s called “French toast” because once you “add” the word French, everything tastes better 🙂
Have a wonderful week!
XOXOXO Ido
The French cookbooks that I have, published in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1960s, all include recipes for ‘pain perdu’ cooked in a skillet and served with cinnamon, vanilla sugar, confiture, or fresh fruit. It’s not really a breakfast food in France, though, but a snack as Nadege says or a family dessert. Even the British people I know are puzzled by the term ‘French toast’ — they seem to call it ‘eggy bread’. I once had a very good bread pudding served as dessert at lunch in a little restaurant in Picardy (north of Paris).