This Backwards French Toast is backwards in more than one way. Not your typical French Toast breakfast, but one that will leave you wanting to eat it again. Eat with syrup or without, this breakfast is simple and sweet in the best of ways.
A little over a year ago my husband treated our family for breakfast at a local restaurant. As a family always living on a tight budget, eating out is a rare occurrence.
But of course when we do get the opportunity, especially as a planned outing at a sit-down-restaurant (as opposed to a quick zip through the drive thru made out of sheer desperation while on a long car ride), it is an absolute treat.
With encouragement from my husband, who had eaten there before with a group of young men he volunteered with through our local church, I ordered French Toast. And let me tell you, it was divine!
Ordering French Toast at a restaurant is not something I typically (and by typical, I mean, I did it once on one of the handful of times I’ve eaten out for breakfast). From a glance at the menu and other patrons’ platters, it seems most restaurants simply dunk a slice of store-bought Texas-style toast in some milk and eggs, fry it on a pan, and serve it with fake, maple-flavored corn syrup.
Not worth the pennies, if you ask me.
But this restaurant served worthwhile plates of food. Indeed, it was quality.
The Good & Beautiful Toast
What came out on my plate was not two soggy and then toasted slices of cheap, airy bread. Instead, two slices of house made French bread, cut length wise or “hotdog style” so that both ends extended past the sides of my plate.
And the French bread was not the usual style – it was as if the cook in the back had made my breakfast much the same way they would batter a large chicken breast to make chicken strips. First the eggs, then the seasonings and flour. Served with a side of maple syrup and cream.
And that, my friends is what inspires today’s recipe: Backwards Breakfast Toast.
I love French Toast. Everyone in my family knows that it is my favorite thing to have for breakfast, and as such my husband and kids see it on the breakfast table regularly.
Most mornings at our house when we’re having French Toast for breakfast, we have more of a traditional or Basic French Toast, and as I mentioned in my article here, we’re not picky on what type of bread we use.
In a busy and frugal household like ours, we use what we’ve got and make the most of it!
Similarly, this Backwards Breakfast Toast can use any type of bread you have on hand (though I might suggest you avoid Everything Bagels or any other strong, savory breads that might taste adverse to the sweetness of maple and cinnamon).
The restaurant that so inspired this breakfast used a traditional French dough shaped into a beget loaf.
In the pictures I have posted today, you’ll see we’re using a whole-wheat French bread dough shaped into rounds.
We’ve also tried this method using a packaged yeast sandwich bread and a sourdough sandwich bread.
They all tasted fine for us.
I have tried to totally replicate my restaurant experience by using length cut slices of a white French bread loaf. But my 13” cast iron pan (my largest pan), isn’t quite large enough to house a full-length beget slice.
Feel, Don’t Follow
Much like our family favorite Basic French Toast, this Backwards Breakfast Toast is all about getting a feel for the ingredients, not a list of instructions and listed ingredients for you to follow precisely.
Also similar to traditional French Toast recipes, this breakfast relies on the basic foundation of what all French toast is: bread soaked in eggs and milk.
But unlike traditional French Toast, we are going to dip our bread in eggs and milk, then return them the flour, sugar, and cinnamon to give it that breaded, crispy outside texture.
Like French Toast, but Different
The ingredients for this recipe and overall end-result is similar to French Toast, but the process is a little different.
Full Disclosure: I will warn you now, this process uses an additional bowl or dish to mix the dry ingredients separate. I know it is one more dish for you to wash, but I promise this breakfast toast will be delicious and well worth washing the extra dish.
This delicious breakfast has all the same ingredients as your Basic French Toast, but with a more dessert-like taste and texture as an end result. I would put it along the same lines as eating a donut for breakfast – that’s how incredibly yummy this Backwards Breakfast Toast is.
When making a Basic French Toast, I generally whisk my eggs, milk, cinnamon, and sugar (and sometimes vanilla) all together in a glass pie pan, dip my bread slices in the mix, then put those slices strait onto the frying pan.
For this Breakfast Toast, you’ll actually want to mix your eggs, milk, and vanilla in one bowl (remember to use a bowl wide enough to fit your bread slices!). Then, in a second bowl, pan, or plate, you’ll want to mix together some cinnamon, sugar, and flour.
As for proportions: You always want your egg mixture to be about 1/3 milk and 2/3 eggs. For our family of five, we generally start with the following proportions, and then increase if needed.
Egg Mixture:
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup Milk
Flour Mixture:
- 2 Tbl Sugar
- 2 Tbl Flour
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
Flour Before or After?
After your bread slice is dipped in the egg-milk mixture, you are left with two options: to coat it with flour and sugar before cooking it on a hot pan.
OR… To take the slice of bread strait out of the milk and eggs, cook it on both sides, then toss into your sugar and flour before serving.
I’ve tried it both ways, and let me tell you my favorite way is to cook it first, then flour. It’s a lot less messy, and I find I really enjoy the crispier texture that comes with adding the sugar and flour after – but hey, that’s just me! Try it out for yourself and let me know which process you prefer.
Simply dip, cook, flour(both sides), and serve.
Top it Off
One of my favorite things about this Backwards Breakfast Toast is that it doesn’t need maple syrup or syrup of any kind to taste good.
Perhaps that’s another reason we call it backwards?
Leaving out the syrup just helps to decrease to overall sugar content for this sweet breakfast, but without challenging its sweet flavor or oh-so-yummy goodness.
Our family’s favorite way to eat this scrumptious breakfast toast is drizzled with heavy whipping cream. You had better be saying “Yum” on your end because I am just thinking about it.
Yummmm.
We also like it with just a dollop of butter.
Whether you choose to add the syrup or eat it without, I know you’ll love this Backwards Breakfast Toast.
