I Can't Believe It's Vegan... French Toast

Last Sunday, I made vegan french toast. It seems that people are picky about their french toast, and we are no exception. I looked for recipes and finally decided to try this recipe. While I'm sure many people might be happy with the results, we didn't love it. It produced a rather dense and chewy piece of soaked and fried bread. Not exactly what we were looking for. But we ate it, criticized it and decided to try again next weekend.

Fast forward to this morning.
My husband and I joined forces and made up our own recipe.
Our version is inspired by the batter that is used for the Monte Cristo sandwich [oh my that is definitely not vegan], with some minor adjustments made for a sweet rather than savory fried treat.
We were thrilled with the results...so much that this recipe made it to this blog.

This batter produces a light, fluffy and crispy crust. When fried quickly at a high temperature, it cooks thoroughly to a deep golden brown, sealing the oil out and as a result, keeping the bread oil and soggy free.

Perfect Vegan French Toast

Ingredients:

Sourdough bread slices, cut in half
Vegetable oil, for frying

For the Batter:

1 flax egg
2/3 cup water
1/4 cup almond milk (soy would work well too)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup flour
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Fill frying pan with oil, about 4-5 inches, so that there is room for the bread to float. If you are using a non-stick skillet, sticking shouldn't be a concern, so less oil will be needed. Heat oil on medium high heat, test with a teaspoon of batter, if it floats and browns, the oil is ready, if not, turn up the heat and test again.

Whisk dry ingredients. Blend wet ingredients. Mix together and stir until smooth.

Coat each half slice thoroughly, letting excess batter run off and then carefully place in the oil. Cook for 2-3 minutes, and flip. Cook 2-3 minutes more, remove and place on a metal cooling rack, to allow excess oil to drip off. If desired, heat your oven to 200° and place slices on a baking sheet in the oven to keep warm.

Serve with powdered sugar and your favorite syrup. We used agave nectar, but I'm thinking that next time we'll make a raspberry syrup to top it with. Enjoy! Oh, and please let me know your thoughts if you try this!