Tony Jackman’s loaded french toast cooked in an air fryer oven. (Photo: Tony Jackman) 
French toast, known as pain perdu (lost bread) in France and eggy bread in the Boggy Isles, consists of slices of ordinary bread soaked in beaten egg and pan-fried until all of the egg has saturated the bread while it is cooked.
The secret, I learnt while watching videos for a previous French toast recipe, is to combine beaten eggs with a little milk in a jug and pour it over the bread, rather than have the egg mixture in a bowl and dip the bread in that. It seems like two versions of the same thing, but pouring the mixture over makes all the difference. Somehow, it holds together in the pan without the egg running.
In this altered version, I used a simple oven pan to hold the bread slices side-by-side, and poured the milky egg over it, a little at a time, to give the bread time to absorb the egg, then added more, then more, until they were truly sodden.
But that’s not all. This is loaded French toast, and it’s oven-baked, so there are two stages to the cooking.
First put the soggy bread in the oven until the egg sets and takes on a little colour (you have to use your eye), then spoon on more egg mixture, but this time with a handful of things stirred into it.
There’s bacon in it (never fear, I’m always here for the bacon lovers), and an allium (spring onions), tomatoes both for colour and tang, and a herb (fresh basil), and of course the eggs that are the carrier for the whole thing. And seasoning of course – just salt and black pepper, but you could add a spice.
I cooked rashers of back bacon first, then chopped them up. I diced tomatoes and spring onions, and tore some basil leaves. This all went into beaten eggs with simple seasoning.
Tony’s loaded French toast pan bake
(Per 6 portions)
Ingredients
6 jumbo eggs
2 Tbsp milk
Butter for spreading on the bread and greasing an oven pan
4 to 6 rashers of back or streaky bacon, cooked and diced
2 medium ripe tomatoes, diced
2 spring onions, diced
6 to 8 basil leaves, torn into small pieces
Salt and black pepper to taste
Method
Fry the bacon, cool it, and chop into bits.
Dice the tomatoes
Dice the spring onions.
Tear some basil leaves into small bits.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (I used a front-loading air fryer , but this recipe is not for the type of air fryer that has a drawer).
Break 4 eggs into a bowl, add 2 Tbsp milk, and beat vigorously. Season with salt and black pepper and stir.
Grease an oven pan with butter and lay out the bread edge to edge.
Pour the egg over the bread a little at a time, using the back of a tablespoon to spread it around, then add more until it is used up evenly.
Break 2 more eggs into the same bowl and add the bacon, tomatoes, spring onions, basil and seasoning. Stir well. Set aside.
Put the pan in the oven to bake until the egg has set. Open the door and tilt the pan to see if the eggs are still runny.
When the egg has set, remove from the oven and spoon over the remaining mixture, evenly.
Return the pan to the oven and bake until the egg has set thoroughly. I can’t dictate a time for this as it depends on the idiosyncrasies of ovens, which behave differently. It should take 8 to 15 minutes but it is best to be watchful and remove it when it looks just right and when the egg does not run when the pan is tilted.
That’s a one-pan hearty breakfast, and it’s as loaded as you’d like it to be. DM
Tony Jackman is twice winner of the Galliova Food Writer of the Year award.
Follow Tony Jackman on Instagram @tony_jackman_cooks.