Beta Baguette French Toast

I love the idea of making french toast from left over baguette, but I've never liked the execution. The very thing that makes a baguette so satisfying, the chewy, crunchy crust, just gets too hard, making it too difficult to cut with a fork and too difficult to chew.

But I still like the idea. We really don't buy much bread, just baguette when we eat antipasto and the occasional roll for a sandwich.

After a night of antipasto we always have some leftover and a couple days later it's hard as a rock. The next day though, it's just stale enough to make the perfect french toast. I figured out how to make it work.

It's all in how you cut the bread- very thin. Keep in mind, I took the pictures very close-up, so the bread looks much thicker than it actually is. I'd say it's cut in about 1/2 inch thick pieces, if not thinner. I only used one medium banana, which was enough for two, so it is sliced paper thin. Use it for scale when viewing the pictures.

This recipe may be the simplest of all my breakfast specialties, in fact, I don't even measure. I made it up off the top of my head and I'm not the AlphaChef. Believe me, after reading this once you won't even have to refer back to the posting.

I made enough for two people, about eight small slices each, which ends up using a little more than a third of the baguette. Mix four eggs with some vanilla- about a teaspoon and a half, 1 tsp cinnamon and about a half cup of milk, but I didn't measure, just add enough milk to dilute the eggs into enough liquid to soak the bread. I heated, on medium-high, two skillets so I could make them in about two batches. I hate trying to keep them warm prior to serving. Put a pat of butter on each skillet when hot. Throw the bread into the egg mixture for about 30 seconds, just enough to coat and soak briefly. I then put the coated bread on the skillet and cook until each side is golden brown.

I piled the pieces on a plate, added bananas and strawberries because I had them around and thought it would look good and served with maple syrup. That's it. Takes about 15 minutes for the whole process. The result is a crisp, but just soft enough, sweet and savory, delicious version of french toast. You can cut it with your fork and chewing is not a problem. Dilemma solved- baguette will never again be wasted in our house.