The Jewish French Toast

After the steak incident, I thought I needed to earn some girlfriend points back. It was a restless night and early morning for us. BP II was hungry because he technically had not eaten since breakfast the day before but was still hesitant to eat anything I made. (He stills says that I poisoned him.) BP II thought he could muscle down some French toast and with my guilt; I was more than happy to oblige. I grew up in Pennsylvania and went to Catholic school all my life. I even went to a Catholic College for heaven’s sake. That being said, I never really knew any Jewish people. So when I moved to New York, I really didn’t know how wonderful Jewish breads were. It actually wasn’t until my roommate started to date her boyfriend, who happened to be Jewish, that I was introduced to Challah bread.

Challah bread is used in the Jewish tradition on the Sabbath to represent the manna that fell from the heavens when the Israelites were wandering around the dessert with Moses after their exile from Egypt. Because manna did not fall on the Sabbath, this was God’s day of rest, a double portion would fall the day before. The Challah is a double braided loaf of bread that symbolizes the double portion of manna that God provided for the Israelites. (An interesting note: According to the bible when the Israelites would store extra manna on any other day, it would spoil. God would be displeased and through Moses would scorn the Israelites for not believing that God would provide for them.)

Challah bread is fantastic for French toast. I am not sure why but this bread stands up to the egg mixture and still maintains its soft center. It is actually best to keep the bread out the night before and let it go stale. It helps the absorption of the egg mixture.

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 tsp of vanilla extract
¼ cup of milk
1/8 tsp of cinnamon

Directions:
Combine the above ingredients in a shallow dish. Cut the Challah loaf into thick slices. Coat the slice in the egg mixture on the first side and then the 2nd side. Place on a skillet heated to med heat with a tablespoon of melted butter. Brown on both sides. Repeat for all slices.

You can keep slices warm in a oven heated to 300° for up to 30 minutes.