French Toast as breakfast alternative - not only sweet, but also hearty!

Every morning - especially on weekends - the same question arises: What do you eat? After all, you don't want to eat porridge, bread rolls or pancakes every day on Sundays. Somehow alternatives have to be found. One of them is of course the toast - not just like that, not just toasted, but refined: the French Toast!

For a French Toast you obviously need toast, but not all toast is the same. The main thing here is that you use a soft - mostly white - bread, which can then soak up the toast. The bread is then cut into slices. If you use bread from the supermarket, these are the standard slice sizes, if you cut it yourself, you can of course also vary the thickness of the toast. 

The next step is to mix milk, eggs and sugar together to make a liquid mass. The toast is then soaked in this mixture until it is completely soaked. Then it is fried in oil and served with fruit, sauce or similar.

In addition to the term "French Toast" there is a seemingly infinite number of other names. Beginning with the "Poor Knight", the "Rusty Knight", "Bread Slices", even "Bread Noodles", the "Bread Cake" (as a variation of the " Emperor's Cake") up to "Wake Slices" or "Baked Wake", there is somehow a name for each designation of the roll. 

Looking at the individual names, those with a designation for "Bread Slices" are quite logical, but why exactly was and is this dish also called "Poor Knight" or "Rusty Knight"? This goes back to the fact that exactly this mixture of old bread, eggs and milk was the dish that knights ate after their return. For the most part they could afford little or nothing else. The Brothers Grimm quoted exactly this in their dictionary with "snit denne aht snitten armer ritter und backe die in smalze niht zu trüge". Since then the dish has been called "Poor Knight". The rusty representative of it is only a variation.

Now you can enjoy this sweet breakfast dish of course in the various shapes and colors.

Whether it is in the classic version with a mixture of milk, egg and sugar for pickling or if you already mix other spices such as cinnamon into the liquid. This is how the classic French Toast becomes "Cinnamon French Toast". It is also possible to add cocoa or Nutella before the actual roasting or baking.

If you simply use brioche, a croissant or banana bread  instead of the well-known white bread, you can also create a variety of creations with it. The basic rule is: You can use any bread or pastry you like!

A last glance now falls on the inserts. Here you should decide if you want to enjoy the side dishes next to the French Toast or even in the French Toast, because there is also a so-called "stuffed" version of the French Knight. Generally, applies here: Any fruit, sweet sauce or nut mixture you like can be used as a side dish. There are even savory variants with bacon. And for the small appetite you can even enjoy the French Toast in small rolls or sticks.

Also, in our neighboring countries there are variations of the Poor Knight. Thus, in Spain the "Torrijas", in Portugal the "Rabanadas" and in Hungary the "Bundáskenyér" are probably variations of the court known to us. 

However, the Hungarians are less fan of the sweet dishes and eat theirs exclusively salty and for example with spinach.

Howsoever - good hunger!