Name: Pain Perdu Recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 1 day old baguette cut into 8 slices (2in thick); 3 eggs; 1/2 cup (120 ml) milk; 1 tsp (5 ml) sugar; ¼ tsp (1.25 ml) salt; 2 tsp (10 ml) vanilla; 1 tbsp (15 ml) orange zest; 2 tbsp (30 ml) syrup; 2 tbsp (30 ml) butter; 1 tbsp (15 ml) orange zest; A sprinkle of orange zest for garnish

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Learn how to make my Pain Perdu Recipe the “Original” French Toast. An easy breakfast recipe for a delicious treat that will put any stale bread to good use! And the best part is you probably have all the ingredients you need already on hand!

Looking for more breakfast recipes? Try my Foolproof Crepe Recipe, Blueberry Crumb Cake, or easy Egg Bake Souffle.

Dealing with Left Over Bread in France

When you spend time in French homes you start to realize there’s always a lot of French bread lying around. Typically a few pieces are leftover from lunch, dinner, and even breakfast.

Because the French love their fresh bread, it’s typically bought daily and goes stale pretty quickly, and when it does it’s hard as a rock! So what to do with it you might ask? Pain perdu is your move. Because really how many containers of bread crumbs do you really need?

What is the origin of French toast?

Pain Perdu is really the origin of our American “French Toast” recipes, but I find it’s even better with a thicker, heartier bread like a baguette.

What are the ingredients of Le Pain Perdu?

The ingredients are simple and chances are you have all of them already on hand. You’ll need eggs, milk, sugar, salt, vanilla extract and I like to add a little orange zest, although it won’t make it or break, just a good add-on if you have it!

Use a Shallow Bowl

Whisk up the batter in a shallow bowl. This will make it easier to place several pieces of bread to soak at one time.

Allow Time To Soak

When soaking the bread be sure to give it time to soak up the liquid.
Stale baguettes can be dense and you want to make sure the liquid has a chance to travel up through the bread to make it softer once cooked.
Otherwise your pain perdue can turn out a bit dry. So don’t rush this process.

Cooking the Pain Perdu

Allow the bread to cook on both sides in a non-stick skillet with sizzling butter until the egg is cooked through.
Be sure you give it enough time to cook off the raw egg. About 2-3 minutes per side.
Once you’ve achieved a nice golden brown color, you can turn down the heat to avoid over-browning.

Don’t Forget The Sides

It’s also important to cook on all sides so that if any raw egg spilled out the tops and bottoms it will be cooked off too. This will cook off any bacteria from the raw egg.

Serving Tips

Extra time in the skillet will also create some nice color on the top of the bread and give it a nice crunch was it’s done.
You can serve it with butter and jam, or more orange zest and a drizzle of warm maple syrup.
Or a dusting of powdered sugar on top is also nice.

So next time you’re entertaining and don’t get through a whole baguette, pop those slices in the freezer until you can make pain perdu, it’s a fantastic little breakfast treat!

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