BAKED PRALINE FRENCH TOAST: BREAKFAST FOR A CROWD

Saturday, July 10, 2010

adapted from Gourmet Today edited by Ruth Reichl

serves 8-10

This recipe for French toast will feed a crowd. It is not the classic French toast where you slave away dunking bread in batter and frying. In this recipe, most all of the work is done the night before. You make a simple custard batter and then pour it over a panful of baguette slices. It goes into the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, the bread will have soaked up all of the batter. Just before you bake it, you pour a praline sauce over it. What comes out of the oven is puffy and golden brown. It looks like pralines with yeast. Sweet, decadent, and rich, a little goes a long way. Balance the decadence with some fresh summer berries, strong coffee, and perhaps a few slices of hickory smoked bacon.

Diners of all ages will love this.

For the Bread:

Butter to grease the pan

1 long (24-inch) baguette

6 large eggs

2 cups whole milk

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla extract

For the Sauce:

4 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 cup pecans, chopped and lightly toasted

1. THE DAY BEFORE: PREP THE BREAD

Generously butter a 13 X 9 inch baking dish. Cut the baguette into 1-inch thick rounds. Arrange the rounds of bread in one layer in the dish. It is okay to squeeze them together. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, 3/4 cup of brown sugar, nutmeg, and vanilla. Pour the mixture evenly over the bread. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Flip the pieces of bread. Cover the pan with a sheet of foil. Refrigerate at least 8 hours.

The ingredients

The sliced baguette will soak up the custard sauce by morning

2. THE MORNING OF: MAKE THE SAUCE AND BAKE
Preheat the oven to 350 with the rack placed in the middle. Pull out your baking pan and uncover. The bread will have soaked up all of the liquid. In a saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar, salt, and heavy cream. Stir on MEDIUM LOW heat until it boils and the sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Add toasted pecans. Spoon pecan mixture evenly over bread. Bake until bread is puffy and liquid is absorbed, 40-45 minutes.