The past few years we bought a panettone from Manresa Bread for Christmas. This traditional Italian Christmas bread is a mix between a bread and a cake. I’ve see the ones at the grocery stores for years, but it was first when I got interested in sourdough bread baking and saw the panettone at our Local Manresa Bread store, I wanted to try it. It is as yummy in the morning with coffee as it is in the afternoon with a glass of something sweet. But the panettone is a large bread/cake, so I wanted to see if you could use the leftovers in another way, and here, French Toast a very good option. I do like French toast, but often it is very sweet and I find it to lack texture. But the panettone version add a more complex flavor profile and the breads own texture and the dried berries make it a very delicious breakfast. But I like a bit of salt with my sweets in the morning, so we added some bacon to our plates, and it was just perfect. when serving people with a larger appetite, add a sunny side up egg to the mix.

Serves 2.

Ingredients:

1 large slice Panettone (1-inch/2-3 cm) thick (I used a ginger lemon cherry panttone from Manresa Bread)
1 egg
4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 lemon, the zest of
1 pinch salt

Directions:

In a wide, shallow bowl, beat the egg, cream, vanilla, and salt together with a whisk until well-combined. Place the bread slice in the custard and gently press it down to help the bread absorb the custard, then flip it over and do the same to the other side of the bread.

Heat a good amount of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the custard-soaked bread to the pan and cook until it’s browned, it takes about a minute. Flip the bread and fry on the other side until it is browned. Serve the French toast immediately with a light sprinkle of powdered sugar and a drizzle of marble syrup. I served with a couple of slices of bacon, to bring some saltiness to the plate.

Enjoy!