Pain Perdu

It’s Sunday morning. You don’t want to eat the usual breakfast and are craving something new. Pain Perdu is the recipe that is going to satisfy these cravings of yours. Try this simple and easy recipe that is a favorite of all.

Ingredients

whole milk: 1/2 cup

heavy cream: 1/2 cup

Large eggs: 2

granulated sugar: 3 tbsp

Armagnac: 1 tbsp

Vanilla extract: 1 tsp

slices batard: 2

cultured unsalted butter: 2 tbsp

superfine sugar: 1 tbsp

all-purpose flour: 1 tbsp

How To Make 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.