Pandoro French Toast
Monday, January 10, 2011 
When we were in the US back in November, I made a stop at Williams-Sonoma for a bottle of vanilla extract and some harmless browsing (it's harmless because though I always find a million gadgets and cooking equipment I'd like to have in this store, I know I would never be able to bring it all back home in my suitcase, much less find space to store it in my kitchen).
Walking out with my extract and a cupcake corer (that'll fit in a suitcase!), I grabbed a recipe card for Panettone French Toast. I decided that since we'd be at home on Christmas Day this year, it would be perfect to have for breakfast. I've also always wanted an excuse to buy a panettone, a sweet Italian bread studded with raisins and / or candied fruit that you see pop up in the stores around Christmastime.

Well, I went to the grocery store looking for a panettone and ended up coming home with a pandoro, which is not exactly the same thing -- no raisins or other fruit involved -- but works fine as a substitute. It is excellent just plain and reminded me alot of a kugelhopf or a brioche-esque bread. I liked it so much that I bought a second one for dessert on New Year's Eve.
I regret to say that I lost a good part of the pandoro trying to make the French toast. Some pieces soaked too long and fell apart while others stuck to the bottom of the pan. The bread being rather large in diameter, cutting it into managable pieces unfortunately meant not having a sturdy crust on all sides. All in all, three slices came out ok, which was perfect to share between the two of us.

I served the French toast-ed pandoro sprinkled with powdered sugar and with maple syrup on the side. Like on New Year's Eve, I also made cranberry-orange sauce to accompany the dish. This recipe is a keeper -- I loved the addition of orange juice and zest to the egg mixture and plan to try with on other types of bread.
Pandoro French Toast
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma’s recipe for Panettone French Toast
Yield: 6 servings
1 pandoro
3 eggs
1 cup milk
Grated zest of 1 orange
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
Softened unsalted butter for brushing
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
Warm maple syrup or other accompaniments for serving
1. Preheat your oven to 200°F. Cut the pandoro into horizontal, 1-inch thick slices (discard the end slices). Cut each slice in half.
2. In a bowl, whisk the eggs until just blended, then whisk in the milk, orange zest, orange juice, granulated sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour the egg mixture into a large, shallow dish and add the bread slices. Soak, turning once, about 5 seconds per side (do not oversoak!).
3. Heat a griddle on medium heat and brush with butter. When the butter foams, add a few of the bread slices to the griddle. Cook, turning once, until lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Turn the slices over again and cook for a few minutes more per side until browned.
4. Using a spatula, transfer the French toast to serving plates and place them in the oven. Cook the remaining bread slices.
5. If desired, sprinkle the French toast with confectioners’ sugar. Serve with maple syrup or other accompaniments.



























