Pain Perdu

• Take the bread and cut it into 2 inches thick slices. Place it on a wire rack so that it dries out a little while you prepare other things.
• In a large bowl, whisk the eggs to blend. Melt the butter in a saucepan and allow it to cool slightly.
• Whisk the sugar, milk, heavy cream, Armagnac, and vanilla extract into the egg.
• After the butter has cooled down a bit, start pouring it into the bowl containing mixture and whisk it at the same time to prevent the eggs from scrambling.
• Keep whisking until the mixture is completely homogenous and smooth
• Place the bread in a tray or dish that is large and deep enough to cover the bread entirely in custard and is able to hold it in a single layer.
• Cover it and place in refrigerator for a day. Make sure that you keep turning the bread over a few times in between so that both sides get equally soaked in custard.
• Take out the soaked Pain Perdu from the refrigerator and place them carefully on a tray while flipping them one more time.
• Mix 1 tablespoon of sugar and flour and sprinkle half of this mixture on top of the Pain perdu with a sieve and make sure that it gets sprinkled evenly.
• Put butter in a frying pan over medium heat until it starts to melt. Now add the bread with the sprinkle side down on the pan.
• On the other side sprinkle the remaining sugar/flour mixture and flip the bread once it is crisp and golden brown in color on the other side.
• Once both sides are done, place the pan in a preheated oven at 450 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes ensuring the surface gets dark but not burnt.
• Serve while it is hot with milk jam or maple syrup.

Trivia

• In French, the literal meaning of ‘pain perdu’ is ‘lost bread’

In the south of France, this dish is eaten traditionally on feast days.