The secret of the perfect French toast: the Fernández family recipe (Viena La Baguette)
The date we have with the pancakes at Easter it is possibly as obligatory as eating itself. But this year it seems that the "bug" has wanted to spoil the party. But Easter without French toast is like Three Kings Day without a roscón or a San Isidro without chotis . We're not going to go through there, so if the French toast doesn't come home there is always the possibility of doing it ourselves . To do this, we have knocked on the door of one of the oldest breads in Madrid, that of Vienna La Crem, also known as Breads with soul.
THE TORRIJA ALWAYS PART OF A GOOD BREAD
Vienna La Crem, Fernandez family stronghold , it has been four generations ( more than 110 years, which is not little ) making one of the most legendary breads in Madrid. Teaches us how to make French toast Paco Fernandez , passionate about gastronomy, and in charge of the company continuing to grow, always incorporating special varieties with haute cuisine flavours.
A category torrija has to be made with a category bread and that is why the choice of bread can mean your success or failure in this culinary quest. In the case of the Fernández family, they can boast of being pioneers in working with sourdough , to investigate and have the best raw materials in Europe . As a curiosity, the organic flours with which some of the large format breads are made come from stone mills from Asturias and Galicia , and for others they are used the best of Germany or Italy . The result are artisan sourdough breads, living breads, without additives that also always have a common denominator: affection.
The secret of a good French toast is in the bread
Paco jokes about the number of years they have been making French toast: “The truth is that we have lost count, perhaps we have been making the same French toast bread for 35 years . It is the same recipe as always and yes, it is familiar”, he explains, without hiding that some change has been made in this time as introduce cocoa or orange zest to make something different . That is why we have three types: the white bar (with pastry or pastry dough to which they add cocoa or orange zest), another with bakery dough and a butter loaf with 100% butter mold.
While we put on our aprons, Paco emphasizes the importance of having a good raw material to make the torrija . And it would be a sacrilege to have a bread like yours and not bet on some good free range eggs , a good extra virgin olive oil and one trusted butter . If you can count on one good fresh milk , much better than have consistency and flavor.
INGREDIENTS FOR THE TORRIJAS
1 La Crem Vienna toast bread or, failing that, a bread with crumbs for French toast.
1 liter of fresh milk (can be mixed with cream 35% mg)
2-3 tablespoons of sugar (to taste)
shells of 1 lemon and 1 orange
A pair of cinnamon sticks
3 or 4 eggs
Oil extra virgin olive oil for frying
Cinnamon powdered
ELABORATION OF THE TORRIJAS
If you don't have toast bread, there is always the possibility of making them with a crumb bread that we leave reserved from one day to the next. Tip pro: the Fernández family's breads are perfect mixing milk with cream so that it has more consistency and flavor.
1. Emulsify the liquids with a cinnamon stick and the peels of an orange and a lemon. When making the peels, be very careful not to reach too much of the white part since it will bitter.
two. After about 20 minutes,** strain the milk and allow it to cool down**. This is very important because if it is made with hot milk the bread will be destroyed.
3. Pour the milk over the bread cut into slices of about 2-3 centimeters and let it rest to that they soak well . But not too much (if they get too soaked they will break).
Four. pass the slices of bread for the egg that we have previously beaten.
5. Fry in plenty of extra virgin olive oil until golden brown, avoiding them coming into contact with each other. The oil has to be very high but not to the maximum, we do not want them to be carbonized.
6. Serve on a tray and sprinkle cinnamon on top.
Torrija breads can be ordered by phone since luckily they are making home deliveries. If you want some advice, buy bread for the whole week and take advantage of the delivery, since in addition to the fact that these breads last and can be frozen, they are a real luxury. The price of the torrijas breads is between €4.5 to €8 depending on the variety.
French toast bread from Vienna La Baguette
Address: Antoñita Jiménez Street, 58. Madrid See map
Telephone: 91 560 09 22 / 91 560 00 14
Half price: €4.5 to €8