sautéed peach french toast.

My favorite breakfast is scrambled eggs with goat cheese and chives (and lots of black pepper) and a side of toast with butter and jam.  The boy in my life prefers French toast.  Lots and lots of pieces of custardy French toast. (He loves it so much that it would be his last meal on earth!)  I’ll leave it that we agree to disagree on the perfect breakfast.  (I will admit that I enjoy finishing my own breakfast with a bite of his French toast, nothing like ending on a sweet note.)

When Tyler saw there was leftover buttermilk bread from the BLT sandwich it made his eyes lit up with the thought of fluffy homemade French toast.  Considering the number of dishes I made while bread and cookie making I figured he deserved it.  I made a custardy base of milk and eggs and added in a generous amount of cinnamon and ginger so each slice would have a good amount of spice.  I thinly sliced some peaches and mixed them with some sugar, cinnamon, and ginger and sautéed them in a little butter.  I thought they would be a nice surprise in between the layers of rich bread.  I cooked the French toast until it was nice and golden brown on each side, topped each slice with some peaches, and then drizzled the whole thing with maple syrup.  It was a breakfast that made him happy (and I loved finishing my eggs with several bites of French toast!).

Sautéed Peach French Toast

Recipe adapted from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything

Serves 1 generously but it can serve 2

The type of bread you use is very important when making French toast.  I personally prefer a light and fluffy bread. Challah or Brioche is my personal favorite.  You also want to slice you bread the night before and leave it to dry out, helps the bread hold up to the custard much better the next day!  This would also be good with any variety of fruits; I’ve made it with apples before and had equally delicious results. 

For the French toast

1 Egg

½ cup milk (I used buttermilk since I had extra on hand but regular milk works)

Dash of salt

2 teaspoons sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

1 tablespoon butter (or more as needed)

4 slices of bread

For the peaches

1 large peach, thinly sliced

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ginger

2 teaspoons sugar

1 tablespoon butter

For the peaches:  In a large bowl combine the peaches, cinnamon, ginger, and sugar.  Set asise.  In a pan heat the butter, once melted add the peaches to the pan and cook stirring occasionally until the peaches are soft and just beginning to carmelize.  Place peaches on a plate and set aside.

For the French toast: Beat egg in a large bowl and the stir in the milk, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.  Pre heat your skilled on medium heat with melted butter.  Dip bread in slices in custard and shake off excess.  Place slices of bread into the pan.  Cook until browned on each side, turning as necessary.  When cooked through, transfer to a plate.  Top each slice with ¼ of the peaches.  Repeat with remaining slices of bread. Drizzle with maple syrup.