With eggs and dairy, sugar and spice, bread finds its golden age
Bread, gilded. How does that happen
Conferring such treatment on a humble slice or two is not quite the puzzle of the century, but what has eluded me for some time is a way to avoid getting that dreaded eggy skin on pan-fried French toast - the kind that's a little tough or rubbery, looks sad and doesn't taste so great. Unpleasant, in a word, and in my culinary world, a challenge.
Solved: I whisk the eggs (whole eggs plus a single egg yolk) with the cinnamon sugar, as if preparing the first step of a sponge-style cake batter, and, yes, it banishes the offending film. Please follow my lead, for it's an easy step and returns a lovely result.
Once the soaking mixture is in place and settles into the bread, one side of each slice is coated with crushed brown rice cereal and a glimmer of cinnamon sugar. Out of the skillet, then, comes French toast memorable for its custardy richness and playful crunch.
• Lisa Yockelson is the author of "Baking Style: Art, Craft, Recipes" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011) and reveals what's on her cooling rack on Twitter @sweetpinkbaker