The concept of using day-old bread soaked in beaten egg and milk then sauteed to golden in butter (and usually topped with something else nutritious and delicious) is simply genius. Ancient peasant genius that works quite okay in the modern urban environment.

In non-francophone countries this is called French toast. In France they call it pain perdu, “bread lost”, or “bread that would otherwise be thrown in the bin if we didn’t make French Toast out of it except we don’t call it French Toast since we’re already in France.”

In England it’s called “eggy toast”. The English should join in the game and call it something less obvious 🙂

1. First, catch your hen. (Apologies to Mrs Beaton and her Book of Household Management.) I mean first crack some eggs into a bowl and whisk them nicely. Beat one egg for every two or so slices of bread you’ll use. Add milk, half an eggshell for every two eggs. Add seasoning, anything except salt since you’ll be adding salted butter and salt is bad for you anyway. So add ground white pepper, cracked black pepper, ground cumin, coriander, tumeric or garam masala, smoked paprika, fresh or dried herbs: origanum, marjoram, parsley. Keep your touch light so that no flavour dominates.

2. Choose your slices of day-old bread. My favourite is baguette sliced thickly and dramatically on the bias, but you can use any bread at all sliced in any way you want.

3. Soak the bread in the egg mix on both sides.

4. On medium heat soften salted butter in the same volume of olive oil, enough to reach about a quarter way up the slice of bread you’ve chosen. The oil’s higher smoking point will stop the butter from burning.

5. Sautee as many bread slices as you can fit in the pan. Flip once with slotted turner when the underside is golden. Adjust butter and oil and repeat until all your pain perdu is la cuisson terminée.

6. Eat your French toast like that, or top it with anything at all. In Canada this is served with bacon and maple syrup. My favourite is a form of sandwiched croque monsieur (classic toasted ham and cheese sandwich) with smoked salmon, mozzarella and coriander leaves.

So much opportunity with pain perdu, so little time.