Eggy bread stuffed with pear

Eggy bread, or French toast, is a great, simple way to use up stale bread and make something satisfying and delicious at the same time. I don’t know who first started stuffing it with fruit, but I am a big fan of the idea. You can use any leftover bread or poached fruit you have on hand, just make sure to cut the loaf into thick slices and soak in the batter until fully absorbed.

Eggy bread stuffed with pears Credit: As seen in Fe

• serves

  2

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 2 x 3 cm-thick slices stale sourdough bread
• 1 poached pear in syrup, quartered, cored, syrup reserved
• 2 eggs
• 60 ml (¼ cup) milk
• 1 tbsp maple syrup, plus extra, to serve
• ½ tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
• 30 g unsalted butter
• Pouring cream, to serve

Instructions

1. Using a small, sharp knife, cut a narrow slit into the top crust of each bread slice, working knife around edge to create a pocket. Stuff pear into pockets (don’t worry if they poke out a little).
2. Whisk eggs, milk, maple syrup, vanilla and a large pinch of salt in a bowl until well combined. Dip stuffed bread into batter and allow to soak, turning, until batter is completely absorbed.
3. Melt half of the butter in a large, heavy-based frying pan over medium-low heat and carefully slide in one eggy bread. Cook for 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown and cooked through. Repeat with remaining butter and eggy bread.
4. Serve the eggy bread with reserved pear syrup, extra maple syrup and cream.

Photography Alan Benson

As seen in Feast magazine, May 2014, Issue 31.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.