Photo: Claire Lower
I am, for the most part, a fan of the savory breakfast. An egg on toast, maybe some cottage cheese with halved cherry tomatoes, an onion bagel and cream cheese—these are my preferred weekday breakfasts. But a sweet, doughy breakfast is welcome on the weekend, particularly on days that I don’t have much to do. Give me a stack of pancakes, waffles, or French toast, along with a a a good YouTube video, and I am happy.
Unfortunately, if I want those things, I have to make them myself. This is totally my fault. My boyfriend has given up on cooking in my kitchen, mainly because I am an asshole who can’t help but hover and critique.
Since I am the one doing the cooking, I try to streamline the process as much as possible. Because of the nature of my job, making brunch can feel like working on the weekend, and that is something I try to avoid. (I’m union, baby.)
Waffling French toast is one of those extremely efficient moves. Instead of flipping the toast halfway through, the waffle iron cooks both sides at once, cutting the cook time in half. (Though it is probably faster to make a whole bunch of French toast with a large griddle, I do not have one of those, and can only fit two slices of toast in my pan at a time.)
But beyond efficiency, waffled French toast (or is it French toast waffles?) are the best of both worlds. Fluffy and eggy on the inside, with more crispy surface thanks to the divots. Divots are also great at holding maple syrup (or maple butter), and getting syrup into my mouth is half the point of these breakfast carbs.
Thick white bread works best here, though I used sandwich bread this morning and the French toast was still good. The waffle iron does squish, and using too thin of a bread can lead to flat French toast. You can waffle pretty much any French toast recipe, just make sure to drain away the excess egg first. I set my egg and half & half-soaked piece on a wire rack for a few minutes while the waffle iron heats up.
Waffled French Toast (makes 2-3 slices, depending on the thickness of your bread)
Ingredients:
1 egg1/3 cup half & half3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract1 teaspoon sugar1 pinch of salt3 slices thick white breadAdd all ingredients except the bread to a bowl and whisk to fully combine. Dip both sides of each piece of bread in the egg mixture and set on wire rack to let the excess drip off. Heat the waffle iron to medium heat. Once heated, place the egg and dairy-soaked bread in the middle of the waffle iron and cook for 2-4 minutes, depending on the thickness of your bread, until the toast is browned and crispy on the outside. Serve with butter and maple syrup, or maple butter syrup.
