Louisiana Woman Blog

  • Home
  • Appetizers
  • Side Dishes
  • Main Dishes
  • Sweets-recipes
  • Contact Us
  • Classic Cajun Cooking And More
  • Modern Footer
  • About
  • DISCLAIMER
  • Privacy Policy
  • form
  • Recipe Index
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Home
  • Appetizers
  • Side Dishes
  • Main Dishes
  • Sweets-recipes
  • Contact Us
  • Classic Cajun Cooking And More
  • Modern Footer
  • About
  • DISCLAIMER
  • Privacy Policy
  • form
  • Recipe Index
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • Appetizers
  • Side Dishes
  • Main Dishes
  • Sweets-recipes
  • Contact Us
  • Classic Cajun Cooking And More
  • Modern Footer
  • About
  • DISCLAIMER
  • Privacy Policy
  • form
  • Recipe Index
×
Home » Breakfast

French Toast Or Pain Perdu (Lost Bread)

Published: Aug 17, 2018 · Modified: Jan 22, 2024 by Louisiana Woman · This post may contain affiliate links · 6 Comments

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

French toast is a classic breakfast dish known as pain perdu or lost bread. This dish transpired years ago by saving precious daily bread before it spoiled and had to be thrown out.

French toast with powdered sugar and blue berries on a white plate.

I’m an Amazon Associate. The Louisiana Woman Blog contains affiliate links with Amazon, and I will earn a commission if you purchase through those links. Thank you! 

I grew up eating pain perdu for breakfast. We mostly called it French toast, but other family members called it by its Cajun French name. Maybe it's because we used regular Evangeline Maid sandwich bread instead of French bread loaves.

I remember making French toast when I was tall enough to reach the stove. I learned how by watching Mama make it for me, and she learned from her Mama, who made it for her. It was never complete until I poured on lots of Steen's Cane Syrup. Yum!

For more Louisiana-inspired recipes, check out 24 Mardi Gras Food Recipes.

Classic French Toast

This simple breakfast food is as popular today as ever. Not because it's easy to prepare and gives new life to stale bread, but because it's so delicious! The best thing about it is that it's not just for breakfast. You can serve it as an after-school snack, or for supper with eggs and sausage, or how about dessert? It hits the spot any time of day.

Teaspoon of vanilla being poured into egg and milk batter in shallow bowl with sliced French bread on side.

A Little Less Sugar

The older versions of Pain Perdu consisted of a generous amount of white sugar in the egg and milk mixture then the dipped bread was fried in oil. Today, I find that omitting the sugar in the custard mixture and dusting the cooked french toast with powdered sugar gives it just enough sweetness. (You can top it with syrup if you like.) Also, instead of frying in oil, I toast the bread in a pan of melted butter. The crunch of the warm buttery toast goes well with the powdered sugar.

Browned French toast in pan.

By testing different ways of saving this lost bread I've discovered these ingredients and measurements in my recipe below to be easy to remember, and it's fail-proof, too!

Ingredients for French toast on wooden board.
Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
French toast with powdered sugar and blue berries on a white plate.

French Toast Or Pain Perdu (Lost Bread)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

Print Recipe
Pin Recipe

A simple recipe for french toast or pain perdu (lost bread) that makes a delicious quick breakfast or snack any time of day. The outside is crisp and crunchy and the inside soft and custardy. Top it with syrup or powdered sugar and sprinkle it with fresh berries.

  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale

8 1-inch French bread slices

1 cup half and half

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons butter

Powdered sugar or syrup

Instructions

  1. Scramble eggs with a fork in a shallow bowl.
  2. Add half and half and continue stirring until the egg and cream are well incorporated.
  3. Stir in vanilla and salt.
  4. Using a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat.
  5. Place a slice of bread into mixture and turn the bread over to absorb milk mixture on both sides.
  6. Cook two pieces of french bread slices at a time until golden brown on each side.
  7. Continue cooking the rest of the bread in a tablespoon of melted butter each time.
  8. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or pour syrup over french bread before serving.

Notes

The older the bread, the crispier it will cook up.

Add a pat of butter onto hot toast for a more buttery taste before topping with powdered sugar or syrup.

For a change, you can use a hot waffle iron coated with butter to cook the french toast.

  • Author: Louisiana Woman
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Category: Breads
  • Method: Toasting
  • Cuisine: French

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 2 slices

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @louisiana_woman on Instagram and hashtag it #louisianawomanblog

Recipe Card powered byTasty Recipes
Plate of French toast with berries and syrup.

Now you can see how easy it is to make french toast that even a child just tall enough to reach over the stove can master.

When biting into the crunchy outside of Pain Perdu and tasting the warm custardy inside it reminds me of another way to save some lost bread. Have you guessed it, yet? That's right, bread pudding! Here's my recipe for Bread Pudding With Pumpkin Pecan Praline Sauce. You know that soon we'll be hunting those pumpkin recipes. Here's a reminder that this bread pudding recipe is here when you need it. It's delicious with other toppings as well if you're not in the mood for pumpkin.

“Each prayer is like a seed that gets planted in the ground. It disappears for a season, but it eventually bears fruit that blesses future generations. In fact, our prayers bear fruit forever.”   

Mark Batterson

More Breakfast

  • A white rimmed bowl on a green polk a dotted napkin with a spoon filled with couche couche recipe and milk.
    Couche Couche Recipe, A Cajun Mama's Breakfast Cereal
  • A round pastry cake with a slice cut out exposing a whole almond.
    Galette Des Rois: Traditional French King Cake Recipe
  • A plate of sliced apples, a casserole serving, and fresh mint.
    Easy Breakfast Casserole: Veggie or Meat
  • A pan of biscuits with a buttered biscuit with jam on a plate next to it.
    Easy Buttermilk Biscuit Recipe

Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

  1. Anita Voiselle says

    August 19, 2018 at 1:37 pm

    More egg Less milk! I use 4 eggs I/2 cup milk! More protein, fewer carbs!
    Also good savory with salt and pepper instead of sugar.
    Can dip in syrup also!

    Reply
    • Louisiana Woman says

      August 19, 2018 at 1:39 pm

      Thanks, I’ll have to give that pepper a try next time!

      Reply
  2. Lisa Atkins says

    August 20, 2018 at 8:45 pm

    Yum. Now this is something I can make.

    Reply
    • Louisiana Woman says

      August 20, 2018 at 8:47 pm

      ... any time of day!

      Reply
      • LSU's GRITS says

        December 21, 2020 at 10:45 pm

        The loaves of sliced white bread
        that are so popular in the Acadiana region of Louisiana is:
        Evangeline Maid (Maid as in Maiden....not Made)
        Evangeline was main character in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's epic poem of the heroine's namesake which was published in 1847.
        The Flower's brand bakery makes "Evangeline Maid" AND "Bunny" bread.

      • Louisiana Woman says

        December 22, 2020 at 3:58 am

        Correction made. Thanks for the information!

At Louisiana Woman Blog, I share recipes and stories about life in South Louisiana. The food here is authentic and easy to prepare. I hope you enjoy a taste of my rich Cajun heritage with recipes that preserve the precious culture of South Louisiana.

More about me →

Popular

  • A large glass bowl of layers of salad ingredients of peppers, corn, onion, bacon, cheese, and cornbread.
    Easy Layered Southern Cornbread Salad
  • A sliced, cooked beef brisket on a white plate with a bunch of fresh parsley.
    Easy Oven-Barbecued Brisket Recipe with BBQ Sauce
  • A square piece of cornbread on a bowl full of black eye peas and a slice of jalapeno pepper on top of the bread..
    Boudin Cornbread Recipe With Fig Pepper Jelly Topping
  • Collage of 40 photos of Louisiana recipes.
    40 Best Louisiana Recipes From Louisiana Woman Blog

Here are more of the homepage's trending recipes.

  • A Crawfish Fettuccine served in a glass casserole dish.
    Crawfish Fettuccine
  • A bowl of dip with saltines sitting on a platter of crawfish.
    How To Boil Crawfish: With Helpful Tips
  • A plate of hush puppies and dip.
    Best-Ever Hush Puppies
  • A pot of boiled shrimp.
    Easy Boiled Shrimp Recipe

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • About Me
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates.

Contact

  • Contact

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright © Louisiana Woman Blog 2024