Pain perdu (lost braid)

6 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
This is from Roy F. Guste Jr's The 100 Greatest Dishes of
Louisiana Cookery. ISBN 0-393-02503-9

Directions

In his comments on this recipe, Mr. Guste Jr. states, "Little of anything was ever discarded in the Creole kitchen that could not somehow be used again. Stale bread is a primary example of this.

From bread crumbs to croutons to bread pudding and lost bread, there was a use for the stale French bread that was so often available.

Since French bread is baked daily and becomes stale in a matter of hours there developed a preponderance of dishes dealing with the use of stale bread. Lost bread is the root of these dishes. In this typical offering we see the transformation of a possibly useless product, the stale bread, into a delicious sweet dish, not unlike French toats. Thrift was essential in the Creole kitchen, with pain perdu as perfect example. This dish is most often served for breakfast. ================INGREDIENTS=========================== 3 each eggs ¼ cup sugar 1 Tbsp vanilla extract 1 Tbsp cinnamon ½ Tbsp nutmeg 1 cup milk 2 sticks butter 1 loaf stale French bread powdered sugar Louisiana cane syrup ================DIRECTIONS============================ Beat the eggs together with the sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Blend in the vanilla extract, cinnamon and nutment. Whisk in the milk. Cut the French bread crosswise into 1-¼ inch slices. Melt the butter in a skillet. When butter is hot, begin cooking the bread by first dipping the slices into the egg and milk mixture and then lay the slices into the hot butter. Brown the bread on both sides and remove to a serving platter. dust the pain perdu with powdered sugar and dribble a little syrup over each slice. Serve 3 or 4 slices per person. Serves 6.

VARIATIONS: Your favorite syrup or maybe those homemade preserves on the shelf in your refrigerator would go well here with your pain perdu. You can make this with any bread that is not too highly flavored with herbs or garlic or onions. NOTE: I think the Louisiana cane syrup is important here. Steen's syrup, manufactured in Abbeville, Louisiana, will always be my favorite. (Notes from FHT - I'm unable to get this delicious cane syrup up here on the frozen Canadian prairies, so I'm forced to substitute Maple Syrup. It works well.)

Submitted By FRED TOWNER On 10-28-94

Related recipes