A whole loaf of bread? That’s a lot of eggs and milk.
Re scrambled eggs: Nigella starts scrambled eggs in a COLD pan. I tried that and love the way the eggs cook gradually and come out in soft little lumps.
Well, that settles it: French toast for dinner! I even have real maple syrup. Hehe.
Yeah, the slow heat method produces something that I would call more “custardy” and “creamy” than the scrambled eggs by the medium-high to high-heat method. Looking online, the higher heat method seems closer to Chinese-style scrambled eggs or a traditional French omelet. The key to high heat is moving the eggs around as soon as they set a little bit and making sure nothing browns (as I don’t like my eggs browned.) To paraphrase Alton Brown says in his eggs episode, high heat is not the problem–the problem is eggs sitting in the high heat and toughening. You want to keep them moving (I don’t do it constantly, just every few seconds) and taking the pan off the heat when the eggs are about 2/3 done, while still keeping them moving (residual heat will continue to cook them). I dump them on a plate when they’re about 90% of the doneness I want (I tend to like them more on the underdone side–not runny, but still delicate.) So there is reasonable bit of technique and timing involved here to keep the eggs soft. I don’t understand the “watery” complaints, but I do see some of the sites that advocate slow cooking scrambled eggs say high heat makes them watery. I honestly can say, I’ve never had that happen to me, and I don’t understand how high heat would lead to watery eggs–that seems counterintuitive to me. If anything, I would think the risk is them becoming too tough and dry if you’re not paying attention enough to your technique and timing.
Eating it now. Yum.
However many it takes to soak up the mix, typically about 8 slices of sandwich bread. I use two eggs and halve the rest if it’s just me.
[whiney voice]Hey, I said “can”.[wv]
I use the low & slow method for my challah french toast in a cast-iron skillet, simply because I don’t like it wet on the inside.
Curious what flour does to the resulting FT?
You need plain white bread. Preferably the thick slice “Texas Toast” version.
Cheap white bread is hard to beat for grilled cheese or French Toast.
Soak it for a minute or two. That thick Texas Toast really sucks up the batter. Cook in a hot skillet with butter.
The flour makes a “crust” with a little more structure so it doesn’t collapse in on itself once removed from heat and promotes even browning. ( The sugar helps with that part too).
The added butter is to keep the gluten strands separated to prevent a tough “skin”.
Final product, crisp, golden brown on the outside, tender smooth custard inside.
Is that right? Just one egg for up to 8 pieces? That seems like it would have hardly any egg-ness to it.
We just tried this out (with the 1 egg), and it was delicious! We added a bit of cinnamon, and used whole wheat bread (we don’t keep white around - it’s not quite right for french toast, but I’m used to it now, and it’s really not bad, just a bit darker in flavor and firmer).
I think I do prefer a slightly eggier french toast, but this was really good, definitely a notch better than the way we had been making it.
My wife tells me to thank my little friends at the Straight Dope. 
We’ll all be there for breakfast tomorrow. Better run out and buy another egg or two.
Yeah, there’s that too. Different strokes – I actually like it both ways; some days I’m in the mood to wait, and other days I’m not.
In any case, the quality of the eggs matters a lot, too. I heartily recommend organic free-range eggs. I don’t know whether it’s the organic or the free-range or what, but they’re better.
I first heard of those back in 1977, having moved from college dorm to off-campus. I joined a food co-op because I saw pretty young ladies going in & out of there, thought it might be a good way to meet some. I remember shopping there the first time and seeing the free range eggs, trying not to roll my eyes too obviously, and bought them. I’d been cooking with eggs a lot (first time living alone, learning to cook).
The first time I craked them open and cooked them it was a big surprise. The color was different, the taste way better, the texture lighter and fluffier … better in every way, and I had definitely not expected it.
That said, I’m still satisfied with supermarket eggs. Eggs be yummy.
Yeah, what I find is that eggs that come from chickens that are allowed to roam around and eat whatever the hell they can find (in addition to any feed they get) make for the best eggs. I personally don’t notice a difference between “cage-free” and regular eggs other than the price. But “free range” makes a difference, and you can see it just by looking at the egg with its much deeper, almost orange yolk, and richer flavor.
Speaking of buttermilk, why can’t I find that in a one pint or even half-pint size? I’m never going to use a full quart in any recipe, and God knows it’s simply not potable. If I could find it in a size that wasn’t going to inevitably find me wasting half of it, I might buy it once in a while and try some of these recipes.
kaylasdad99 - Maybe you could try powdered buttermilk.
StG
This is pretty much the opposite of what the OP was looking for, but to anyone else who prefers fried, non-eggy style French Toast, use frozen sandwich bread. A quick dip in your egg mixture covers the surface and as it defrosts in the pan, the egg only penetrates so far. The center doesn’t get dried out all, this way - I suspect the eggs trap the moisture in. (Extra egg mixture gets poured into the pan just before flipping the whole bound mass.)
Thanks for posting this! I used this recipe this morning–followed it exactly and they came out great. Although next time I’ll probably use 1/8 tsp salt instead of 1/4. It wasn’t overpowering or anything, but I did notice it. I used sandwich bread, letting it sit out overnight first.
I’m reviving this thread just to say I finally got around to trying Brown’s recipe and it is indeed excellent. I took the liberty of adding vanilla and cinnamon to it, but I think this one is a winner. His addition of some honey to the mixture is genius.