How to make French Toast like a pro

Hey everyone! Today I got the idea to share a way to make something that I am making all of the time because it is so simple and so delicious: French toast. Now, no matter how simple I find French toast to make, I know there are people out there that have never made it before or are not quite sure how. Therefore, today I'm going to share my favorite way to make it. When I make french toast I rarely if ever measure the quantities of ingredients I use because it really all depends on taste and the quantity I am making so I am just going to list the ingredients for you and you can use the amounts you desire.

My absolute favorite bread to use when making french toast is the eggy deliciousness that is challah. But feel free to use whatever day old bread you have on hand. You want it to be slightly stale because if it is fresh then it will become really soggy in the batter and tend to fall apart.



Hannah's Favorite French Toast
ingredients:

- eggs
-half and half
-a splash of your favorite flavor of coffee creamer (i.e. french vanilla, Italian sweet cream, hazelnut etc.)
-a drizzle of honey
-desired number of slices of bread
-butter for greasing skillet
-cinnamon (optional)
-powdered sugar (optional)

directions:
1.) If bread is not pre-sliced then cut to about 1-inch thick slices with a serrated bread knife.
2.) Combine the eggs, half and half, coffee creamer, and honey in a shallow bowl and whisk together until well combined.
3.) Heat butter in a skillet over medium-low heat and sprinkled cinnamon (if desired) onto the melting butter and tilt the pan so that it is well greased.
4.) When the butter begins to sizzle and bubble take one slice of bread at a time and dip it into the batter flipping once and letting it soak for a few seconds (not too long so it doesn't fall apart).  Shake off excess batter and drop in skillet. Continue doing this with slices of bread until you fill your pan. Cook french toast about a minute and thirty seconds then flip to the other side with a spatula and continue cooking until golden brown. Be careful not to let it get blackened or it will taste burned. Remove slices of french toast from pan and place on a plate. Repeat the procedure with desired amount of bread slices. If you are making a lot then I suggest putting the french toast that is done in a heat proof dish and placing in a warm oven until you've finished making all of the french toast.
5.) Some people like powdered sugar on their french toast, I like it without it, but if your a fan then sift powdered sugar over the french toast right after cooking. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Best Bread Machine Loaf!

This is the best loaf of bread my bread machine has ever concieved! I've always liked all the bread that came out of it although, sometimes short and dense and very unlike how bread should be, it still tasted amazing. I just could never seem to get it to rise the way I wanted to. Usually the tops would always fall in even if I were to measure the yeast with a micrscope for an eye and count every last organism. Behold Light Oat Bread. I got this recipe from allrecipes.com and only slightly adapted it. I was skeptical about its simplicity but after checking on the dough mid-knead I knew it would work out. The dough was just the right consistency with no adjustments on my part- a slightly tacky ball that circled around the pan and stuck lightly to the sides for a brief second then pulled away. This is what you are looking for so check on it after the first five or ten minutes of kneading and if it's too wet (soupy, liquidy, not forming into a ball) or too dry (crumbly, powdery, not sticking together) then simply adjust accordingly. Too wet? Add 1 tablespoon of flour and allow to need for a minute or two and continue to add until it's just right, don't go crazy. Too dry? Add warm water (80-110 degrees no higher or lower) one teaspoon at a time, just until everything is nicely sticking together. There shouldn't be any little crumbles, if so, just carefully remove the dough from pan while in kneading cycle and press them back into the dough ball, if they crumble out again this is another indicator that it's too dry.

Light Oat Bread

(slightly adapted from allrecipes.com)

(yields one 1 1/2 lb loaf or 12 servings, 150 calories per slice)

1 1/4 cups warm water (80-110 degrees F)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp salt

3 cups bread flour

1/2 cup old fashioned oats

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast

1.) Add ingredients to your bread machine pan in the order suggested by your machine's manual. For my machine the order would be water first followed by oil, salt, sugar, flour, oats, and yeast last.

2.) Select the basic white setting and the 1 /12 lb loaf size with a light crust, if possible or the equivalent for your machine. Start the magic! *Remember to check the consistency

3.) When your loaf has baked up remove the pan from the machine and let it rest in the pan 10 minutes. Then move to a wire rack and allow to cool completely before slicing. Resist the urge to cut into it before it cools, this will cause the center to get gummy.

Sweet, light, and lovely!

Perfect for my favorite sandwiches- peanut butter and honey with flax and chia seeds, mmm!