Laura Calder recently featured “Savoury French Toast” on her show, French Food at Home. It is much different from what is traditionally made in American homes, and anyone who tries this recipe may never go back to the old family recipe. The good news is that Savoury French Toast is just as easy to make.

The herbes de Provence that are added to the egg really enhance the flavor of this dish. Herbes de Provence are a blend of thyme, basil, savory, fennel, and sometimes lavender flowers. The herbal blend may vary among brands.

In France, French toast is called “pain perdu” (click on each word to hear its pronunciation), which means lost bread. The lost bread comes from stale baguettes that were not used quickly enough. Soaking the bread in the milk revives it for this wonderful dish.

Savoury French Toast Recipe

• 2 slices of a baguette, stale such as that from the previous day;
• 1/4 cup milk;
• 1 egg;
• 1 pinch salt and pepper;
• 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence;
• 2 teaspoons butter.

Slice the baguette on an angle to get larger slices. The slices in the accompanying photos are 1 to 1.5 ounces each.

Pour the milk in a bowl and soak the baguette slices for five minutes on each side. The baguette slices should soak up most of the milk. Place the egg, salt, pepper, and herbes de Provence in another dish and beat.

Melt the butter in a frying pan. Do not let it brown, but just melt. Remove the bread from the milk and place it in and coat it with the egg mixture. Remove from the egg mixture and place into a frying pan over medium heat. Fry until golden brown, then flip and repeat on the other side. If the bread is wide enough to stand on its side, also fry the sides.

Calder recommends topping the French toast with tomato jam (see “French Tomato Jam“) or ketchup. The French Tomato Jam recipe is a magnificent condiment for the Savoury French Toast.

Don’t waste the egg! Throw any leftover egg in the frying pan and eat it with the toast.

Nutritional Information

Nutritional information will greatly vary depending on the size and type of the baguette slices.

Savoury French Toast, 5.0 out of 5 based on 1 rating