French toast

French toast, which is actually not French at all, was called in our house Shabbat (Saturday) bread. But actually, my mom would make it not only on weekends but every time there something fun to celebrate or as a way to cheer us up when we had a bad day.

The name came from the modern inventor, John French, but actually, it’s dated all the way back to the Roman empire, which makes sense since it’s one of the easiest and most comforting dishes. 

When I started living on my own, I would make it every weekend! If it didn’t work out for breakfast, I would have it for dinner in front of the TV. When I started to eat plant-based, I mourned on this plate of happiness I was missing for a very long time. But once I tried,I realized it’s one of the easiest things to make vegan, despite being made initially of milk eggs, and butter:)

In a nutshell- a cup of plant-based milk, two tablespoons flour, and a tablespoon sugar. Ans actually even without the flour that mix is enough to make great french toast. But if you want perfect french toast, here are a few tips!

One bowl, one pan. Even doing the dishes after is easy!

Milk – I prefer to use one cup of pretty light milk like almond, soy, or oat, and half a cup of coconut milk that is richer, or even coconut cream if you wanna splurge.

Flour – I think the version I made that was most loved was made with white flour or cornflour. But my personal favorite is almond flour, which is a bit healthier and adds flavor. Oat flour is also a great version. You can buy the flours or grain them yourself in a blender. As counterintuitive as it sounds, chickpea or lentil flour will work as well and will add some protein and nutrients to a pleasure, which is hardly about health, but it never hurts. If you need a reminder of how neutral chickpea is, check out this perfect aquafaba chocolate mousse!

Bread – Brioche is a great base but also super heavy, so you can always opt for just a simple bread. Either way, it doesn’t have to be super fresh, and if you prefer, as I do, a bit crunchier, you can toast it a bit.

You can easily switch the sugar for maple syrup or silan, date syrup. But I love brown sugar, the chunks you can feel in every bite. I also add some to the pan while frying. 

Cinamon and vanilla, and if you’re feeling extra – a pinch of nutmeg, to blow up the flavors.

And last but my personal favorite addition, nutritional yeast. One of the best ingredients I started using when switching to a vegan lifestyle. A bit cheesy, a bit eggy, a bit savory, and enhances any recipe that includes any of those ingredients. Switch a tablespoon of flour for one tablespoon of nutritional yeast in powder or two tablespoons of flakes. If you don’t have any, don’t sweat it. It’ll be great, regardless. But got some for the house, it lasts forever and improves almost everything.

Mix it all in one bowl, soak the bread from both sides and fry it in coconut oil and a teaspoon of sugar (not a must), for about two minutes on each side until it’s slightly brown, and eat hot!
A taste of heaven at home, or a taste of home at heaven?

At my house, we would eat it with cream cheese and maple syrup, so I grained a cup of peeled almonds with three tablespoons of lemon, a pinch of salt, and a quarter cup of water, for the cheesy base and swapped the maple syrup in caramelized bananas for an upgrade! Of course, you can put any topping, chocolate, fruit salad, jam, or eat like this!

Enjoy!