Pain Perdu

Pain perdu with strawberries

Leah Maroney 

Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 30 mins
Total: 45 mins
Servings: 4 servings
Yield: 12 slices of toast

This is not your typical French toast recipe. Originally from New Orleans, pain perdu is made using thick slices of French bread soaked in a sweet custard batter. It's lightly cooked in a pan first, then baked 'til golden brown.

Pain perdu literally means "lost bread." The recipe was created as a scrumptious solution for what to do with stale loaves that were about to be "lost" or thrown out. It's a smart way to use up any leftover bread you may have from a family dinner or party cheese board. The breakfast dish is just one of the countless French-influenced dishes found in the Big Easy and one of the most delicious.

Ingredients

  • 3 large eggs

  • 3/4 cup milk

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • 1 teaspoon sugar

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

  • 1/4 teaspoon allspice

  • 12 thick slices French baguette, day-old works best

  • 3 tablespoons butter

  • Confectioners' sugar, optional

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    pain perdu
  2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and allspice.

    pain perdu
    Leah Maroney 
  3. Slice the French bread into slices that are at least 1-inch thick. You can use a whole-grain French loaf, but any French or Italian bread should work nicely. Slice at a slight angle to make a longer piece of bread.

    pain perdu
    Leah Maroney 
  4. Soak each slice in the egg custard mixture. Turn the slices until all of the mixture has been absorbed into the bread. Depending on how stale the bread is, this may take from 5 to 10 minutes. The secret to this recipe is to completely saturate the bread. This is why thick slices of stale bread are used since thinner fresh bread would fall apart too easily. Make sure to flip the bread so all sides can soak evenly.

    pain perdu
     Leah Maroney
  5. Preheat oven to 400 F. In a large non-stick skillet over medium heat, very lightly brown the slices in the butter for about 2 minutes per side. Don't make it too dark as it will also be baking in the oven.

    pain perdu
     Leah Maroney
  6. From the frying pan or skillet, transfer to a baking sheet or casserole dish. Bake for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove from the oven, turn over, and put back in the oven for another 5 minutes to brown on the other side.

    After 10 minutes on one side and 5 on the other, the custard should be cooked on the inside and the French toast will be crisp on the outside.

    If it looks like it needs more time, bake it longer, but be careful not to cook it to the point that it gets very dark. You do not want the egg custard to become bitter, which can happen with overcooking.

    pain perdu
     Leah Maroney
  7. Traditionally, pain perdu is served with powdered sugar sprinkled over the top. If you want it to look like it would in the French Quarter, then dust away and dig in. You can also top it with maple syrup or fruit sauces like jellies, jams, or marmalades.

    pain perdu
    Leah Maroney 
  8. Serve and enjoy!

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
902 Calories
20g Fat
145g Carbs
36g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 902
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 20g 25%
Saturated Fat 9g 43%
Cholesterol 166mg 55%
Sodium 1915mg 83%
Total Carbohydrate 145g 53%
Dietary Fiber 6g 22%
Total Sugars 16g
Protein 36g
Vitamin C 0mg 1%
Calcium 224mg 17%
Iron 11mg 63%
Potassium 441mg 9%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)