whole grain Archives | Page 43 of 46

For some reason, one of my favorite breakfasts as a kid was french toast. My mom would simply use wheat bread, eggs, a splash of milk, and cinnamon, but I thought it was one of the most amazing things ever. Actually, one of the funniest stories about my childhood involves french toast. My mom accidentally put corn starch on my french toast instead of powdered sugar (she kept them in identical yellow tupperware containers) and wondered why I wouldn’t eat it. Even though I told her it tasted funny, she told me to eat it anyway. She finally realized her mistake after I had eaten it. Guess I had my fill of starch that day.

The other day while passing through Austin, I stopped at the South Congress Cafe for some brunch before a long trek back to Longview. Their brunch menu was quite impressive, but I was immediately drawn to the carrot cake french toast. I considered some other options, but kept coming back to it so I decided to get it. It was AMAZING. It was three thick cut slices of carrot cake, soaked in eggs and milk, and then grilled to a crispy brown perfection. It was also served with an awesome cream cheese, pecan, and cinnamon sauce on the side. I’m not sure why I never thought of making quick breads or loaf cakes into french toast, but the idea stuck and I tried it a few days later in my own kitchen.

I used a banana bread made with Shiner beer that I found at Central Market (delicious!), but feel free to use any banana bread (or carrot, zucchini, etc.) that you prefer. It’s really up to you!

Banana Bread French Toast
serves 2

6 small slices, or 3 large slices cut in half, of banana bread
1 free range egg
a splash of coconut milk/almond milk/rice milk/etc.
a pinch of cinnamon
grapeseed oil for the pan
powdered sugar or maple syrup to serve

Preheat a heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat.

While your pan is heating up, gently whisk together the egg, milk, and cinnamon until combined. It is best to put this in a wide, shallow bowl. Next, dunk your slices of bread in the mixture, making sure to coat all sides very well. Add enough oil to coat the bottom of your pan, then gently place as many slices of bread that will fit in the pan. Pan fry the bread until each side is deeply golden (or dark brown, depending on how toasty you want them), about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Drain on a paper towel, then consume immediately with the topping of your choice (mine is usually a dusting of powdered sugar).

When I was younger, Thanksgiving was an opportunity to scout out a new recipe and try it out with my family. I have collected plenty of delicious recipes from Thanksgivings past, ranging from a butternut squash gratin to an apricot and fennel stuffing. Why am I mentioning Thanksgiving in September? Well, one such Thanksgiving, probably almost 10 years ago now, I found a recipe for something called “brown bread”. It sounded interesting and easy, so I decided to try it. Since then, it has become a regular at Thanksgiving as well as other times of the year when I want an easy and tasty loaf of bread.

Don’t let the rather bland name confuse you. This bread is moist and hearty with a slightly sweet and smokey flavor from the combination of brown sugar and molasses. It is a quick bread, so it requires no yeast or rising time. You can go from mixing bowl to a warm loaf of baked bread in an hour or less. I have changed this recipe a bit so that it is healthier, but I think the original may have come off of epicurious if you are interested in trying to look it up. Normally I enjoy this bread with some jam or butter (or a mixture of both), but I bet it would make some awesome french toast.

Brown Bread
makes 1 loaf

3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp fine grain sea salt
1/3 to 2/3 cups packed brown sugar, depending on how sweet you want it
1/4 cup unsulphured molasses
2 cups lowfat buttermilk
1 tbsp wheat bran (opt.)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour a regular sized loaf pan and line with parchment paper to ensure your bread doesn’t stick. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and brown sugar. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and molasses until combined. Add the buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Pour the dough into your prepared pan and sprinkle the top with wheat bran if you would like. Bake in the middle of the oven until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes. Enjoy!