Tomato Bread French Toast

Tomato Bread French Toast with a mess of melted cheese on top

A bunch of snacky and breakfasty recipes that I conjured up recently emerged from that time I decided to be adventurous at the bakery and order a loaf of tomato bread instead of my usual white or rye. For those of you who’ve never tried tomato bread, I highly recommend it. It’s something I don’t see often, but for those of you living in Dublin, the Bretzel Bakery in Portobello stocks an amazing Tomato and Fennel loaf, for only €2.40. It’s wonderfully soft bread, a little difficult to cut without tearing unless you have a brilliant knife or some sort of kitchen bread wizard thing, so I always get the bakers to cut it for me in their rather intimidating cutting machine. The softness of the bread, however, makes fantastically fluffy French toast, perfect for when you're not in the mood for something too sweet.

Makes 2 slices

Ingredients:

1 egg

2 slices of Tomato and Fennel Bread – if you have very thick slices, add another egg!

3 tablespoon milk

½ teaspoon basil

Salt and pepper to taste

1 small garlic clove, crushed

Butter for frying

A sprinkle of cheese, to melt on top of the French toast (optional)

In a large bowl, whisk all the ingredients except the bread and the cheese (if using) together.

Bring a frying pan to a medium-high heat, and then melt a small lump of butter (if you’re feeling a little healthier, use olive oil).

Just before frying, and not sooner, dip a slice of bread in the bowl and coat with the mixture until about half the liquid has left the bowl and been absorbed by the bread.

Ensure that the entire slice has liquid on it or part of your toast will be dry and chewy. Repeat for the second slice now, if your pan is big enough to host both slices. If not, hold off until the first slice is cooked. If you leave the soaked bread for too long without cooking, it will become mushy and fall apart.

Pop the soaked bread into the pan and fry gently, for about 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

If you intend to use cheese, sprinkle some over the bread while it is still in the pan and allow it to melt slightly. Turn the bread over for about 15 seconds so that the cheese can melt fully.

When you’re satisfied with the bread’s cheesiness level, pop it onto a plate and serve it immediately!