Challah French Toast

A couple of weeks ago a co-worker and I took a "birding" trip to the little town of Delta, AK. Delta is a small Russian Farming community. I was thrilled to find the grocery store shelves packed with containers written in Russian. They had quite an amazing selection of items that I have never seen in Fairbanks, or anywhere else for that matter.

I was also able to find a lovely loaf of Challah bread for French Toast I have been wanting to make for a while now... It was all I hoped it would be, custardy in the middle and crispy on the outside. Perfection in French Toast.

Challah French Toast
adapted from Orangette

1 cup whole milk
4 large eggs
1 Tbs sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt
canola oil to coat pan
6 thick slices Challah Bread

Whisk together milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt in a pie plate or shallow baking pan.

Place a large skillet, preferably cast-iron, over low to medium heat, and add enough oil to just cover the bottom of the skillet.

Add the bread slices to the egg mixture, allowing them to rest for a minute or two on each side. They should feel heavy and thoroughly saturated, but they should not be falling apart. When the oil is hot, place the slices in the skillet. They should sizzle a bit, and the oil should bubble lightly around the edges of the bread; take care, however, that the oil is not too hot, as the egg mixture burn. Cook until the underside of each slice is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Turn the bread, and cook until the second side is golden, another 2 minutes or so. Remove the bread from the skillet to a plate lined with a paper towel, allow to rest for 30 seconds or so, and serve immediately.