Baked French Toast

I've been stressing about how to use up my eggs before I move. This week's L.A. Times Food Section provided my answer: French Toast. Since I'm trying not to buy any food, I changed the recipe to work with what I have.

French Toast works best with slightly stale bread so that the egg custard mix soaks in evenly. Fresh bread actually works against it.

When you soak the bread overnight and bake it in the oven, it's really bread pudding. Technically, I could put this under "desserts". Calling it Breakfast means you can eat something not so good for you in the morning.

(It isn't in the recipe, but I sprinkled the last of my wheat bran on the top, just to cut the guilt factor. That's what looks like a streusel topping.)

1/2 lb challah, slightly "aged"

4 eggs

1 C milk

2 Tb sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 C raisins

1/4 C water, red wine, or apple juice

1 apple, cut in small dice

1. Butter or grease an 8" x 8" baking pan. Cut challah into 1-inch slices and lay in a single layer in pan. You may have to cut each slice into several slices to make them fit.

2. In a bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, and spices. Pour custard evenly over bread and place in fridge. Let sit at least 2 hours, or overnight. Soak raisins in water, red wine, or apple juice until plump.

3. Preheat oven to 350º. Drain raisins and sprinkle top of bread. Top with apple pieces. Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden, apples are cooked, and custard is set. Cut into the middle to check for doneness, and if the egg oozes even a little, put it back in for ten minutes.

4. Serve hot with powdered sugar and maple syrup.

Difficulty rating  :)