Baked French Toast

What kind of breakfasts do you make on the weekend? That feeling of waking up on a leisurely Saturday or Sunday morning can be wonderful. Not only are chances higher that you will leave the house with more than a cup of coffee and a mouthful of dry toast, but you also have the time and energy to be creative, enjoy a sit-down breakfast, and make something that ideally involves maple syrup. Maybe even bacon. And just to be clear, you need to make sure that you are splurging on real maple syrup. Trust me, go to Costco and invest in a bottle right now, it will be worth every penny and change your life. Or at least take Sunday morning breakfasts to a whole new level.

Two weeks ago I shared with you my adventures in baking Challah for the first time. In that post, I dropped a hint that Challah makes some of the best French toast around. While you are free to use sliced Challah in any traditional French toast recipe, I was inspired to try baked French toast for the first time. I based my experiments off of this recipe, and the results were delicious. The addition of lemon zest ensures that the toast has lots of flavor yet is not overly sweet. That's what the 100% pure maple syrup is for, remember?

Ingredients: 
3 eggs

2 tablespoons sugar

zest of 1/2 lemon

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk (I used 2%)
3-4 slices day-old Challah or bread of your choice, cut into 1-inch thick slices

2 tablespoons butter
Berries, maple syrup, and whipped cream (optional, for serving)


Directions:
1. Whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, vanilla, salt and milk in a shallow dish or pie pan. Place the bread slices in the dish and let stand until the bread is saturated, about 30 minutes. Halfway through (after 15 minutes) flip the slices over and preheat the oven to 350ºF.

2. Heat an oven-proof skillet (cast-iron works great) over medium-low heat. Melt the butter to coat the bottom of the pan. Lift each bread slice from the custard base and place in the pan. Cook the slices for about 3 minutes on one side only, occasionally pressing them against the bottom of the pan with a spatula so the bottoms cook evenly.

3. If the liquid leaks out of the bread and onto the skillet, the bread slices are not quite sealed. Continue cooking for 1 minute, pressing the slices slightly to seal. Transfer the skillet to the oven — do not flip over the slices.

4. Bake the slices for 15-20 minutes. The French toast is done when the custard seems solid and the bread appears slightly inflated.

5. Using a spatula, remove the French toast from the skillet and place them, caramelized-side up onto plates. The skillet side should be caramelized and crisp.

A Weekend in Santa Barbara

Sometimes, you just have to thank your extended family for living in some pretty amazing places. I may have mentioned in previous posts that Stuart's family lives in beautiful Santa Barbara, California. Known by some as the "American Riviera," this gorgeous area is full of wineries, great food, pristine beaches, warm temperatures, and even celebrities. I never get tired of quick weekend getaways here, and sometimes have to pinch myself thinking about how we get to spend time visiting family in such a beautiful place...for FREE. No $200 per night hotel stay required!

Needless to say, we just got back from yet another great weekend and I realized to my chagrin that I have never specifically posted about Santa Barbara "weekend getaway" highlights or recommendations. So, here are some photos from our recent stays in Santa Barbara along with a short list of a few of my favorite things. I'm sure there are many great spots that I've missed, forgotten, or just haven't been to yet. If you are familiar with Santa Barbara, is there anything you would add to this list? If so please let me know in the comments below - I can't wait to explore!

Food:
Panino sandwich shop (multiple locations - get any sandwich on focaccia bread)
Jeannine's Restaurant and Bakery (multiple locations - get the Chai tea and some cake!)
Crushcakes (multiple locations - great sandwiches, salads, and cupcakes)
C'est Cheese (wonderful downtown spot for breakfast, lunch, or gourmet cheese shopping)
Padaro Beach Grill (casual family friendly spot overlooking the ocean)
The Lucky Penny (excellent for a light lunch in between wine tasting in the Funk Zone) 
The Lark (fantastic place for a more upscale dinner, in the Funk Zone)
Montecito Cafe (a nicer dining spot in upscale Montecito)
Louie's California Bistro (located at the Upham Hotel in downtown)
Opal (great yet affordable downtown spot, with dinner entrees starting around $15)
Santa Barbara FisHouse (a nice seafood spot close to the beach)
Robitaille's Candies (a little old-fashioned candy shop in the cute nearby town of Carpinteria)

Activities: 
State Street (the heart of downtown Santa Barbara, great for shopping and strolling)
Santa Barbara Courthouse Tower (climb to the top for spectacular views)
Santa Barbara Farmers' Market (Saturdays from 8:30-1:00pm)
Santa Barbara Mission & Rose Garden
Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
Santa Barbara Museum of Art
Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co
The Funk Zone (popular new wine tasting area south of downtown)
Corks n Crowns Wine& Beer Tasting (Funk Zone; Sunday offers sparkling wine/cupcake pairings)
Carpinteria State Beach (the "safest" beach in California, with wonderful views and sand)

 

Soup and sandwich for lunch at C'est Cheese

 

Sparkling wine & cupcake tasting at Corks n Crowns

Walking the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden

  Dinner at Montecito Cafe

 View from the top of the Santa Barbara Courthouse tower

Cheesing it up for the camera!

Homemade Challah

Once in a while I am astounded by how well a recipe turns out. Last week, I wrote a bit about my attempt to try and conquer more recipes that are new to me, such as these Biscotti cookies. I recently took on a similar challenge when I decided to make homemade Challah for the first time last Friday, using this recipe as a guide. For those of you who don't know, Challah is a traditional Jewish bread that is typically eaten on Fridays and/or holidays. However, it has an amazing almost cake-like texture that makes it a lovely bread for everyday sandwiches or toast - you can find Challah at almost any bakery.

While I've baked regular bread before, I imagined Challah would have lots of tricky extra steps. I also imaged it would be very difficult to "braid" the dough in order to give it the traditional beautiful shape that it's known for. Nope. Easy peasy. While you can definitely get all fancy and watch You Tube videos on how to braid Challah, I just braided it like a regular old hair braid in three simple strands. It turned out so good that I could not stop metaphorically patting myself on the back. And force-feeding it to my visiting friends. And baking it into some bomb French toast that I will post more about very soon.

Here you go. You're welcome.

Ingredients:
4 to 5 cups all-purpose flour or bread flour
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant yeast
1 cup hot water (from the tap is fine) 
2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup safflower oil or other neutral oil (canola, grapeseed, etc.)
2 eggs
Egg wash: 1 egg beaten with 1 tsp. water

Directions:

1. Whisk one cup of the flour with the yeast and stir in the hot water until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap or a dishtowel and let rise about 45 minutes or until puffy and bubbly.
2. Directly into the bowl, add the salt, honey, oil and eggs. Stir until well mixed, then add the remaining three cups of flour. Stir until dough forms a sticky mass. Add a bit more flour, then turn dough onto lightly floured work surface and knead for just a few minutes, until dough becomes smooth.
3. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover it with dish towel or plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in bulk, 1-2 hours or longer. (Note: you can make the dough to this point and put it in the refrigerator overnight if you’re short on time).
4. Punch down dough and divide into three equal parts. Grease a baking sheet and, directly on the baking sheet, roll each piece of dough into a long rope that is about as long as the baking sheet. Braid the strands together just like you would braid hair. Brush with the egg wash.
5. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Let the loaf rise on the baking sheet for about 30 minutes while the oven preheats. Place a second baking sheet underneath the first if you have one handy — this double layer of baking sheets will help insulate the bottom of the loaf and keep it from burning.
6. Brush the loaf one more time with egg wash. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely before slicing.