French toast with a crunch of love

Mother’s Day breakfast is all about making something for mom that she would not make for herself. The best choice has to be French toast.

I mean, what mother makes French toast for anyone but her children? And what better way to express your appreciation for the loving maternal presence in your household than to fix a special version of it.

The recipe that follows takes French toast several steps further. Thick slices of soaked bread are dredged in a crunchy topping of choice. You can use almonds, oats or even uncooked millet.

This extra element adds not only divine texture, but toasty flavor. With little extra work and a lot of fun and suspense, it yields a French toast so crisp, you’ll be able to hear mom’s first bite from two rooms away. That is, if you are serving this to her in bed on a lovely tray, with doilies, flowers, fresh-squeezed orange juice and a bowlful of jumbo strawberries.

A few pointers will ensure that your French toast comes out superb and not just OK. Be sure to soak the bread thoroughly so there are no unpleasant dry spots in the center. This works best if the bread you use is at least a day old, maybe even older.

Dry bread soaks up the liquid really well and holds its shape; fresh bread has a maddening tendency to fall apart. The wetter the bread, the more it can stand up to the heat of the griddle or skillet, so the result will be double crunchy on the outside (double because of the coating, remember?) and moist and creamy on the inside. Make sure the griddle or skillet is very hot before adding the soaked and coated bread.

For best results, use either challah or a country-style bread with a crisp crust and an airy but chewy interior. This type of bread is often called batard, ciabatta or pugliese. If you can’t find any of these, use stale French or Italian bread.

If you become a serious French toast aficionado, as I am, you will develop the habit of buying these breads regularly and keeping them in the freezer so that French toast can be made at times beyond Mother’s Day … cooked by mother, perhaps, except once a year.

Crunchy coated French toast

3 large eggs

Pinch of salt

teaspoon vanilla

cup milk or more (see note)

Pinch of cinnamon (optional)

3 or 4 thick bread slices

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