I always think of ways to use my old bread, when a few slices are left (which doesn’t happen often) I get most creative :) So this time I made my own version of a French Toast with a few dry slices that I did not want to throw away. French Toast originally a way to use a few day-old bread as you would soak it and not notice that it got slightly dry. French baking and cooking is known for its beautiful richness, their love for cream and butter. We will find many equivalents in many other countries such as the Bread and Butter Pudding in the UK, Brotpudding in Germany ..

French Toast not something I don’t make every day but when I do I usually take my time to prepare it, go wild on toppings and fillings and see what I have in my cupboards that I could use to add colour and new flavours. Autumn has arrived and root vegetables are the shining protagonists of the season in my kitchen. I love Beetroot in particular, such a diverse ingredient that you will have seen in many of my dishes in many shapes and forms - dehydrated, roasted, reduced, pureed. It is also packed with beautiful nutrients and a great source of fiber.

This time I had friends come round to my house for brunch and I am serving my crisp sourdough french toast with a tasty maple beetroot dressing topped with crunchy granola and filled with my wild jam that you can also purchase from our Wild Bakery in Antigua. 

WILD SOURDOUGH FRENCH TOAST

makes 2 portions 

INGREDIENTS 

2 eggs

100ml whole milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp ground cinnamon

4 thick slices of Wild Daughter Sourdough Bread (a few day's old is perfect) -> buy here

2 tbsp butter

FILLING

2 tbsp Wild Jam (Wild Daughter Shop) 

TOPPINGS 

2tbsp Maple Syrup

2tbsp freshly pressed organic beetroot juice 

1tbsp Crunchy Granola

pinch of sea salt flakes

thyme or micro-greens

tbsp - tablespoon || tsp - teaspoon 

METHOD

let's get wild ~

• cut four slices of sourdough

• spread the wild jam on two slices of wild sourdough and top with the other slice as if you were to make a sandwich

• whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla and cinnamon in a shallow dish and soak each side of sourdough jam sandwich in the egg mixture for about 15 minutes until the bread has absorbed most of the egg mix

• in the meantime, mix the beetroot juice with the maple syrup and mix well

• heat up the butter in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and fry the soaked sourdough jam sandwich for about 4 mins on each side, over medium heat until golden and crisp

• the outside should be firm and crispy whilst the inside will be moist and gooey

• whilst in a pan lay some parchment paper in a shallow breakfast bowl or plate 

• when ready remove the sourdough from the pan and cut diagonally in half 

• lay one slice on top of each other creating some height to the dish and pour the beetroot maple syrup over the french toast 

• sprinkle with the crunchy granola to give extra texture, a tiny pinch of sea salt flakes and finish off with some fresh thyme or other micro-greens to add complementary colour

~ Enjoy x

Picture credit @paulavandekamp