Ina Garten-Inspired French Toast

Compiled by Igor Kukolj, Editor. Nobody here has cooked this — how these are made.

Soggy in the middle, pale on the outside, falling apart in the pan. The bread was too fresh, and no adjustment to the custard fixes that.

A slice of fresh bread is already saturated with its own water, so there is nowhere for the custard to go. It sits on the surface, the slice turns to sponge, and the middle never sets. Dry the slices first — ten minutes at 150°C, until they feel light and papery but have taken no colour — and the same bread will drink up custard and hold its shape.

Day-old bread does some of this. An oven does all of it, in ten minutes, whenever you want to make French toast.

The ratio matters more than the recipe

One egg to 100 ml of dairy sets into a tender custard. Push the eggs up and you are making an omelette around a slice of bread; push them down and it never sets at all. Weigh it once and you will not need to again.

Cook it slower than feels right

Medium-low, and give it four minutes a side. High heat browns the outside in ninety seconds and leaves raw custard in the middle — which most people then blame on the soak.

Why orange zest and not more vanilla

Vanilla past a certain point tastes of the bottle. A teaspoon of orange zest lifts the whole custard and reads as "better", not as "orange" — the same trick that makes a good crème brûlée taste of more than cream.

Storing

Cooked slices reheat surprisingly well: a single layer at 180°C for 8 minutes restores the crust. The custard can be mixed the night before and kept covered in the fridge.