French toast is one of the most loved breakfast foods. The basic French toast recipe is made of sliced bread soaked in beaten eggs, sugar and typically milk, then pan fried. Different French toast recipes have been created and come with several names and variants such as “eggy bread”, “Bombay toast”, “gypsy toast”, and “poor knights”.
The French bread has been a staple at breakfast buffet or at a fancy fancy brunch restaurant. You can also easily make an easy French toast recipe at the comforts of your home. All you need would be bread, eggs, and milk.
Make French Toast Without Vanilla
What Is French Toast?
Before we dine into the French toast recipe, let us get to know more about this fragrant, fatty, and soft bread that could make you fall in love once tasted. French toast is a dish with an old recipe and its origin is still not clear.
It is said that the first reference to the recipe said to break or slice fine white bread into rather large pieces which soak in milk, with the crust removed. It is then fried in oil, covered with honey and served. Though the name “French Toast” suggests that it is from France, the Roman Empire also has the same recipe.
The original and basic French toast uses stale bread to make it more appetizing. It tastes like Bread and Butter pudding that is custardy on the inside with buttery crispy golden edges. Though it is tasty on its own, others would prefer to add vanilla extract and ground cinnamon for a classic French toast flavor.
How To Make French Toast Without Vanilla Extract
This French toast recipe without vanilla extract can make two servings of delicious French toast. The ingredients that you will need are:
- 6 bread slices
- 2 large Chicken eggs
- 70 ml unsweetened Fresh Milk
- 1 teaspoon golden brown
- 10 grams butter
- Honey or maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- A bit of kosher salt
Procedures:
- Slice the bread. Cut them into thin slices about 1.5 – 2 cm. If the bread is already sliced, proceed to the next step.
- In a shallow bowl, prepare the mixture. Beat the eggs with milk, powdered sugar, eggs, heavy cream, ground cinnamon, salt, and maple syrup. Once they are thoroughly mixed, filter the mixture through a sieve or fine strainer.
- Prepare your nonstick skillet and grease it with olive oil or butter. Just heat and melt the butter over medium-high heat. Make sure to use enough butter and not too much. This is to avoid too greasy French toast if there’s too much butter or French toast getting burnt if there’s no sufficient butter in the pan.
- Prepare the French toast to be fried. Soak the bread slices into the beaten egg mixture. Quickly fry the soaked bread into the buttered skillet or frying pan. On medium-low heat, fry it for about 40-60 seconds on each side until golden brown and slightly crispy. Repeat the process until all bread slices are fried. Spray the skillet with cooking oil if it dries up during the process.
- You can now serve and enjoy the French toast. Spread it with jam, honey, and maple syrup.
Will French Toast Without Vanilla Still Taste Good?
French toast is a delicious treat that your family members can enjoy on your meals, especially during breakfast. The use of vanilla extract is solely for the aroma of the French toast. When it comes to the flavor, vanilla extract only provides a mild and subtle flavor. Though having a French toast without vanilla extract may not have that vanilla essence, making it with no vanilla in the ingredients is very easy.
There are several ingredients that can substitute vanilla. As for the classic French toast recipe above, it uses maple syrup as a vanilla substitute. Though it provides a different flavor, it still has that sweet attribute that can complement well with the recipe if you need extra flavor. Other extracts like almond extract would be a good substitute if you don’t have a vanilla extract.
Tips on How To Make French Toast Without Vanilla Extract
Use stale and a little dry bread when making your French toast. Using new and fresh bread can be too soft and it will be very mushy once you’ll soak them in the egg mixture. You can use any type of bread like challah bread, sandwich bread, whole wheat bread or multigrain bread. If you have thick sliced bread, make sure to cut them into thinner slices.
For the milk that you are going to use for a simple recipe, it should be unsweetened fresh milk. Reduce the sugar in the recipe if you are using sweetened milk. As a substitute for fresh milk, you can use heavy cream or almond milk. They are still very delicious and fragrant. Coconut milk is also a healthy option.
If you want to add some flavor, like coffee-flavored French toast cakes, use a little coffee instead of 1 cup of milk. Also, to add flavor to the bread, you can add flour like cinnamon. Frying bread with butter will result in a perfect French toast that is also very delicious.
Though the classic recipe calls for butter and maple syrup as toppings, you can always experiment on what things would go for your perfect French toast. Adding powdered sugar with cinnamon could be one of them.
Popular French toast toppings are Nutella and strawberries, banana and nuts (like walnuts), jam (jelly or fruit preserves), apple and caramel, fresh berries, whipped cream, peaches and ice cream, and of course, peanut butter and chocolate. There are also hundreds of different toppings that tastes great. You can discover them as you keep on experimenting with your French toast.
When making French toast, you must avoid too much liquid on the dipping mixture. Doing so will result in a soggy and mushy bread. Also, depending on the french toast recipes, don’t dipped the bread for too long. Dipping time will depend on the thickness of the slice and the dryness of the bread. You should also fry the soaked bread immediately as it will help in avoiding those mishaps. Use a shallow bowl so you can easily dip the bread and put them into your hot skillet.
When it comes to frying your French toast without vanilla, it should be set to medium heat. This allows the surface of the French bread to slowly turn into golden color and crispy texture. Burnt French toast could be due to the temperature being too high or the frying pan is too dry. A dry pan can be attributed to a lack of butter. Make sure to spray some vegetable oil if you are cooking more French bread or if you are using a large skillet.
How To Store Your French Toast
Now that you have an idea on how to make French toast without vanilla, you will be able to make this staple breakfast dish anytime you want. If you have made extra French toast or if you have some leftovers, you can store them in a freezer.
If you are going to store freshly cooked French toast, leave them on a baking sheet to cool after cooking. You can then freeze French toast within an hour. If there are many French toast, divide each part evenly and put it in a storage bag. Put them in a freezer and you can store the French toast for up to two months. Warm up on a skillet or toaster should you wish to serve a French toast for breakfast.
Summary And Other Insights
What you’ve found in this article is an easy recipe on how to make French toast without vanilla. Though no vanilla has been used on its ingredients, it will still provide that decadent and rich flavor of the French toast.
There are other recipes that you can still explore out there. Most recipes might differ in the procedures, but the main goal is to provide the readers some options depending on their preferences.