Pain Perdu/Pan Perdu

In Louisiana both Cajun and Creole people make Pan Perdu. We call it French Toast. “Pain Perdu” means Lost Bread. This is because traditionally it was made using stale bread that was about to be thrown away or lost. The word in french for bread which is “Pan” is changed to how its pronounced in Louisiana Pain. Now stale bread is an essential in this recipe. Here is a Cajun and Creole recipe of Pain Perdu for you to enjoy.

Pain Perdu Cajun Style In this recipe you can traditionally use any style of leftover bread. However it is not recommended to use sourdough bread.

Ingredients 1 egg 2 tablespoons Sugar 1 Cup Milk Dash of Nutmeg 2 Tablespoons Butter

Preparation: Beat the Eggs and Sugar together add in Nutmeg and Milk, Dip slices of bread in the Egg/Milk mixture. Fry in the hot butter until brown on both sides. Dust with powdered sugar and then top with your favorite syrup. ( Traditionally cane syrup or molasses was used. In addition to any local fruit or jelly that was preserved from a local fruit.)

Pain Perdu Creole Style Stale french bread was the preferred bread for this recipe. This is not your typical french toast recipe, it uses an egg custard to dip the bread in. Ingredients 2 eggs ½ cup of milk pinch of salt 1 tsp sugar 1 tsp vanilla ½ teaspoon cinnamon your typical french toast recipe.

6 thick slices of day old french bread (older is fine as long as you can cut it and Italian bread works fine too, in fact any crusty bread will work.) 1 tablespoon vegetable oil powdered sugar (optional)

Preparing the Custard: It's the simple milk and egg custard that's the secret that makes Pain Perdue special. In a large mixing bowl whisk together your eggs, milk, salt, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and allspice. Slicing the Bread: Slice the bread into thick slices, at least 1-inch thick and add to the egg mixture. I used a beautiful whole-grain French loaf, but any French or Italian loaf should work nicely. Slicing at a slight angle will make for a longer piece of bread. Soaking the Bread in the Custard: Toss the slices until all 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 also why thick slices of stale bread is used as thinner fresh bread would fall apart. Lightly Browning the Bread Before Baking Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large non-stick skillet, over medium heat, very lightly brown the slices in the butter and oil for about 2 minutes per side. Don't cook too dark as most of the browning will occur in the oven as the French Toast Bakes.

Putting French Toast in Hot Oven: Transfer to a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees F. for 10 minutes. Turning Over the Slices and Finishing the Baking After 10 minutes remove, turn over and put back in the oven for another 5 minutes to brown 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 cook it longer, but be careful not to cooked very dark as the egg custard may become bitter. Traditionally it was served with powdered sugar but You can add syrup and or fruit sauces.