Last Updated on June 20, 2024 by Michelle
Stop the press. Hold your horses. And insert lots of other cliches right here, cause today is. . . Are you ready for this?. . . National French Toast Day. But even if you don’t stumble upon this until the middle of next summer, you’ll be glad you did. Cause when is delicious French toast NOT in season?
Stay tuned for my next post, which will give you the full low-down on amazing, delicious homemade butter and buttermilk. Quite possibly the easiest, yet most rewarding, thing that goes on in my kitchen these days. btw, maybe you’d like to know what items I treasure the most in my farmhouse kitchen? I share right here what items I couldn’t live without when I’m making real-food deliciousness in my farmhouse kitchen.
But, in honor of National French Toast Day (November 28th) let’s just get right down to business…
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Call it one of many names.
Apparently this simple dish has a lot of complicated names around the world. From “torrija” to “eggy bread” to “poor knights,” the only one of those monikers I can explain to you is the obvious one. But please comment if you have any idea what “torrija” or “poor knights” symbolizes, cause I always love a good story, but especially if it gives me a reason to use maple syrup in exuberance.
But don’t call it French in France.
Apparently the French don’t lay claim to this deliciousness. In their country they call it “pain perdu,” which I’m told means “lost bread.” Now this name I understand. This may be what I start calling French toast in our house. Ya know, the “lost bread” that was kinda stale so it got shoved in a bag and pushed to the back of the freezer? Then it’s given new life as a yummy meal when I rediscover it. Perfect name.
Whatever you call it, it’s a great way to use up stale bread and excess eggs. Of course this time of year my hens all get cold and selfish and decide to stop laying until spring. Yeah, I’m certain if someone had asked a homesteader before choosing the date of this palatable holiday, it would fall mid summer, when we have eggs up to our egg balls.
Regardless, grab a few eggs, fish out that stale bread from the corner recesses of your fridge, open up a jar of maple syrup, and celebrate today in it’s full glory.
What about the syrup?
If you wanna know how to make your own maple syrup, you’re in the right place. I’ve written about all our family’s mistakes learning experiences and syrup joys over the years. Start here.
If you wanna know a few great sources to purchase the good stuff, I love this sugarhouse and their xxl size is the best price I’ve found for buying your syrup in bulk. On the other hand, this sampler is a perfect place to start.
My recipe for French toast.
While buttermilk French toast is the best, don’t worry if you don’t have any of that delightfully sour stuff in the fridge. Make a great substitute for buttermilk with vinegar and milk. Just combine 1/4 cup of white vinegar with every 1 1/2 cups of milk that you need, and let it set on your counter for 10-15 minutes. It’s not quite as delicious, but you’ll have similar results.
More info you’ll find delicious:
How to make sourdough bread (without any wasteful discard!)
Read about International Pancake Day.
How to make your own real butter.
My favorite maple syrup, maple sugar, maple cotton candy, and maple cream. (Mmmmmmm.)
Items I couldn’t live without in my farmhouse kitchen.
“Go eat your food with gladness.” Ecclesiastes 9:7
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This is genius! I always struggled to figure out ways of using up the buttermilk left from churning, and although I don’t have access to raw milk anymore, I’ve started culturing my own from storebought milk (which is so ridiculously easy I don’t know why I didn’t start doing it earlier). But it remains relegated to pancakes and biscuits – French toast is a great idea! Thank you!
wait… you can churn butter from standard, pasteurized, regular-old, buy-at-the-store whole milk? I honestly thought you had to buy cream if you wanted to churn butter with it.
Oh dear, my run-on sentences are catching up with me again! No, you’re right, for butter you need cream (which, as you know, magically appears when fresh raw milk is abundant!). But for buttermilk, at least the cultured kind, store bought milk works just fine. I just pour a cup of cultured buttermilk into a quart jar, fill it up with milk, let it sit out on a warm counter overnight, and presto chango, buttermilk! (Which, I’m sorry to say, I actually like a lot better than the real buttermilk leftover from churning butter. It’s a lot less work, too! 😀)
Okay, yes, this I knew… in fact I’ve included that info in my upcoming post about making buttermilk. Which technically I should have written BEFORE this post, but typical of me…
I’m going to try this. We always have French toast when my husband bakes bread. Nothing like thick cut homemade bread dipped in eggs and milk and cooked on a hot griddle. We had to cut back a little as it was taking a toll on our waistlines😂