Rum Raisin French Toast
At a time when more and more people are acknowledging the follies of food waste, most home chefs are wondering what took everyone else so long to catch up. Reducing food waste has always been the goal of budget wise home cooks and profit conscious restaurants alike. Maybe I am dating myself, but when I was in junior high school there was still a class called “Home Economics”. The goal was to teach kids basic cooking skills and allow them to practice the skills necessary to run a home and prepare a meal on a budget. Today it would be known as “adulting”. These were the days before food delivery services replaced budgeting, meal planning and grocery shopping with app-based instant gratification. Nobody knows how to cook anymore or what to do with leftovers. Tragically, that little bit of missing knowledge is all it takes to recycle leftover, stale bread into delicious French toast instead of throwing it away.
French toast is one of the original ways to prevent food waste. In the days before industrial bread full of dough conditioners and preservatives encased in plastic bags— bread went stale within 24 hours. Since there was no “Instacart” or “Door Dash” to order up more fresh bread and even if there were, you were probably too poor from being a peasant to have a smart phone or credit card, you made due with your stale bread.
But necessity is the mother of delicious invention and instead of breaking your last remaining tooth on hard stale bread, you soaked it in the day’s milk and eggs, give it a pan fry and you got another delectable and economical meal.
My Rum Raisin French Toast is just the latest spin on a dish that’s been feeding peasants and kings for centuries. Preventing food waste is delicious with this spicy, warming and very easy french toast. You can use my Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread, as I did here or your own—just make sure the slices are ½” thick. Whatever you do, don’t rush the cooking process! You don’t want your french toast to burn on the outside before it has cooked in the middle. Do your part to prevent food waste by enjoying this french toast today!
Directions:
Preheat oven to warm or 170° F. Place sheet tray with baking rack in oven.
Combine all ingredients except bread in a medium bowl and whisk throughly until mixture is completely homogenous.
Transfer into a shallow dish such as a pie dish.
Heat a 10 inch skillet over medium heat and add ½ Tbsp of butter to the pan, swirling it evenly to coat the bottom of the pan.
Dip one piece of bread for 3 seconds on each side. Lift bread out of custard mix and let excess drain back into dish. Quickly place soaked bread in heated, buttered pan.
Let cook, undisturbed for 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown on each side and internal temperature reaches 180° F when tested with an instant thermometer. (The middle of the french toast will also start to puff slightly when done.)
Remove french toast from pan and transfer to baking rack in warm oven to keep warm.
Repeat process until you run out of bread. Enjoy with warm maple syrup and whipped cream or greek yogurt if desired.
(Serves 4)
Ingredients:
8 Slices Cinnamon Swirl Raisin Bread, sliced ½” thick. (about 500-520 grams total)
300 grams Half and Half (1 cup + 2 Tbsp)
2 Large Eggs
2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
¼ tsp Ground Nutmeg
1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
3 Tbsp Dark Rum
½ tsp Table Salt
1 Tbsp Maple Syrup
4 Tbsp Butter
At a time when more and more people are acknowledging the follies of food waste, most home chefs are wondering what took everyone else so long to catch up. Reducing food waste has always been the goal of budget wise home cooks and profit conscious restaurants alike. Maybe I am dating myself, but when I was in junior high school there was still a class called “Home Economics”. The goal was to teach kids basic cooking skills and allow them to practice the skills necessary to run a home and prepare a meal on a budget. Today it would be known as “adulting”. These were the days before food delivery services replaced budgeting, meal planning and grocery shopping with app-based instant gratification. Nobody knows how to cook anymore or what to do with leftovers. Tragically, that little bit of missing knowledge is all it takes to recycle leftover, stale bread into delicious French toast instead of throwing it away.
French toast is one of the original ways to prevent food waste. In the days before industrial bread full of dough conditioners and preservatives encased in plastic bags— bread went stale within 24 hours. Since there was no “Instacart” or “Door Dash” to order up more fresh bread and even if there were, you were probably too poor from being a peasant to have a smart phone or credit card, you made due with your stale bread.
But necessity is the mother of delicious invention and instead of breaking your last remaining tooth on hard stale bread, you soaked it in the day’s milk and eggs, give it a pan fry and you got another delectable and economical meal.
My Rum Raisin French Toast is just the latest spin on a dish that’s been feeding peasants and kings for centuries. Preventing food waste is delicious with this spicy, warming and very easy french toast. You can use my Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread, as I did here or your own—just make sure the slices are ½” thick. Whatever you do, don’t rush the cooking process! You don’t want your french toast to burn on the outside before it has cooked in the middle. Do your part to prevent food waste by enjoying this french toast today!
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