Friday, September 21, 2018

CINNAMON FRENCH TOAST BITES

These Cinnamon French Toast Bites are so much fun to make! You kind of “sauté” them, as though you are stir frying! And it goes without saying that they’re fun to EAT too. 🙂
These French Toast Bites are really just a variation on my Cinnamon French Toast Sticks. The only difference is that the bread is cut into cubes and they are way more fun to cook.

“More fun to cook?”, I hear you ask. Yes, they really are! Because they are in the shape of cubes, browning each side by turning them is a real pain. So instead, I “sauté” them with a wooden spoon, as though I’m making a stir fry. It works perfectly!
Food you can eat with your hands. My favourite kind….


French toast in bite size form! These are really fun to make - you "sauté" them as though they are cubes of tofu or chicken, then toss in cinnamon sugar. And it goes without saying they are also fun to eat! They taste like mini cinnamon sugar doughnuts. 🙂
Ingredients
  • 4 thick slices of slightly stale white bread (1"/2.5cm thick) (Note 1)
  • 2 large eggs (or 3 small eggs)
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
  • 3 tbsp butter , separated
  • Maple syrup to serve (not optional!)

Instructions
  1. Cut the crust off the bread, then cut each piece into 9 equal cubes.
  2. Whisk the eggs, milk and salt in a medium bowl.
  3. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl.
  4. Melt 1 1/2 tbsp of butter in a fry pan over medium high heat. Don't let the butter brown.
  5. Quickly toss half the bread cubes in the egg mixture and use your hands to shake off excess egg mixture. Place the bread cubes in the fry pan and use a wooden spoon to "sauté" them until browned on all sides - about 2 to 3 minutes.
  6. Remove the bread cubes from the fry pan straight into the sugar mixture. Toss to coat, then remove onto a plate.
  7. Repeat with remaining bread cubes.
  8. Serve immediately, with maple syrup for dipping.
Recipe Notes
1. I really recommend using slightly stale bread for this so the bread doesn't soak up too much egg mixture (which results in the inside of the french toast being soggy raw egg) AND they will hold their cube shape better when "sautéing" them. The best bread to use is a block loaf which you can cut into the desired thickness. This can be made with pre sliced bread but because the slices won't be 1"/2.5cm thick, the french toast won't be "cubes" (or they will be very small cubes!).

But if you don't mind what shape they come out as, you can use any bread you want for this (though personally breads with grains in it isn't to my taste for this dish). I've made this with sourdough, leftover baguettes and even mixing up scraps of different types of leftover bread.

2. The thickness of each slice of bread is about the equivalent of 2 slices of sandwich bread. But you cut the crusts off so you lose a bit of bread. So this recipe serves around 3 people, or 4 people watching their calorie intake, or 2 extremely hungry people / people who lack self control around doughnuts. 🙂

3. Nutrition assuming 3 servings.