Ultimate French Toast with Brûléed Sugar Topping · PrimedTable
American🍞 Bread & bakery
Ultimate French Toast with Brûléed Sugar Topping
An elevated French toast made with long-fermented artisanal bread that has exceptional structure and crust. The bread is soaked in a custard enriched with egg yolks, heavy cream, and warm spices like cardamom and cinnamon, then baked with a layer of caramelized brown sugar-butter mixture to create a glass-like brûléed crust. Finished with spiced maple syrup infused with red miso and rum, a tangy blueberry-preserved lemon compote, and crème fraîche whipped cream.
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1
Make the poolish by combining flour, milk, and a quarter teaspoon of instant yeast, mixing until the flour is fully hydrated. Cover and let ferment at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours until bubbly and fragrant.
2
In a stand mixer bowl, combine the poolish with the milk, flour, sugar, salt, yeast, and malt powder. Mix until no dry patches remain. Add the room-temperature unsalted butter one piece at a time, ensuring each piece is fully emulsified before adding the next. Knead for an additional 5 to 7 minutes for a total of 10 to 12 minutes of kneading to develop strong gluten.
3
Shape the dough into a tight ball, place it in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 16 hours for the initial cold fermentation.
4
Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and shape it into a rectangle by cutting, layering, and rolling it to the width of your loaf pan (about 13 inches). Very tightly roll it into a log without trapping air, sealing the bottom seam thoroughly. Place into a generously buttered Pullman pan, cover with plastic wrap and lid, and refrigerate for another 12 hours.
5
Remove the dough from the fridge and let it rise at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes, depending on your kitchen's temperature, until it reaches 80 to 85% of the pan's height.
6
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Bake covered for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 400°F and bake for another 25 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for a final 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely for at least 4 hours before slicing.
7
Make the blueberry compote by combining two cups of blueberries with one cup of sugar in a saucepan. Finely chop about a quarter of a preserved lemon and add to taste. Add a hefty pinch of salt. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes until the fruit breaks down. Taste for seasoning and adjust with fresh lemon juice and vanilla extract as needed.
8
Make the red miso maple syrup by combining one cup of real maple syrup with one tablespoon of red miso. Add a splash of mirin and bring to a bare simmer. Add a splash of spiced rum, then finish with two tablespoons of butter for a rich, flavorful syrup.
9
Make the crème fraîche whipped cream by combining one cup of heavy cream, one quarter cup of crème fraîche, one tablespoon of sugar, one quarter teaspoon of salt, and one quarter teaspoon of vanilla extract in a stand mixer bowl. Whip to stiff peaks.
10
Make the French toast custard by blending six large egg yolks with one and a half cups each of milk and heavy cream (or three cups of half-and-half), the zest of one orange, two tablespoons of sugar, and one teaspoon of vanilla extract. Add a quarter teaspoon each of nutmeg, cardamom, and cinnamon. Blend until completely smooth.
11
Stale the bread either in a low oven at 200°F for one hour until the outside is dry but the inside is still slightly soft, or let it sit out overnight.
12
Soak the French toast: place the staled bread slices on a rimmed baking sheet and pour the custard over them, ensuring each piece is covered. Let soak for about 45 minutes (adjust based on bread dryness and preference), flipping halfway through.
13
Prepare the brûlée topping: melt half a cup of butter with one cup of dark brown sugar in a saucepan, stirring until homogenized. Spread this mixture on the bottom of a nonstick rimmed baking sheet.
14
Assemble and bake: arrange the soaked toast slices shingled on top of the sugar-butter mixture. Bake in a preheated 375°F oven for about 25 minutes.
15
Flip and finish baking: remove from the oven and flip the toast onto a nonstick rack, sugar side up. Either broil until crispy or return to the baking sheet and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes to really crisp up the sugar topping.
16
Plate and serve: top the finished brûléed French toast with the preserved lemon blueberry compote, a scoop of crème fraîche whipped cream, a generous sprinkling of powdered sugar, and the red miso maple syrup.
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