September 14th, 2009
Deep Dish Banana French Toast

come to mama
It’s your typical story: Five-year-old boy reads a story at bedtime on a Saturday in which one of the characters eats French toast, five-year-old boy wonders aloud, “why don’t we ever have French toast?”, fast forward to Sunday morning; the boy’s mother is about to make a respectable breakfast of eggs and potatoes, when the boy announces, nice as you please, “French Toast, Please!”
It was exactly like that, plus I had some bananas that were committing suicide. Oh, and I do not use a griddle. I’m too lazy for that.
Here’s how the story ends:
Deep Dish Banana French Toast
Ingredients
6-8 slices of your poorest excuse for GF bread (save the good stuff)
3-4 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup milk (any kind will do, even nonfat, if you must)
2-3 teaspoons ground cinnamon (to taste)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3-4 ripe bananas, sliced (even nearly overripe will do)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup milk (again, any kind)
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1. In a 9″x12″ dish (or rough equivalent), whisk the eggs, 1/4 cup milk, cinnamon and vanilla until well-combined. Place the slices of bread in the egg mixture one by one, turning each one over once so both sides of the bread are covered in the mixture. Allow the bread to float around in there for about 15 minutes.
2. Once the bread is done floating, remove the slices, pile them onto a separate plate, and set the plate aside. Pour out the remaining egg mixture into a bowl. Do as I say and make scrambled eggs out of that later to serve with the toast. We’re on a shoestring and we waste not. Do not bother washing the 9″x12″ dish.
3. Arrange the sliced bananas in the bottom of the 9″x12″ dish, overlapping only where necessary. Arrange the egg-soaked bread atop the bananas, overlapping where necessary.
4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
5. Place the butter, sugars, salt, and remaining 1/4 cup milk in a small saucepan, mix to combine, and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon easily. Remove from the heat, and pour the mixture evenly over the top of the egg-soaked bread in the 9″x12″ dish.
6. Place the dish in the center of the preheated oven and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, until the sugar has caramelized and thickened. Turn on your oven’s broiler and move the dish to the top rack of the oven, right below the broiler. Broil for no more than 5 minutes, until the bread has toasted around the edges.
Buckle up for the ooohs and aaaaaahhhhhs. Leftovers later are even better.
{The End}
Warmly,
Nicole



Posted on September 15th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
This sounds wonderful! I got very lucky and didn’t have to grow up Celiac (it got triggered later). But now I miss all of the staples I had when I was younger. I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Thanks for sharing!!
Posted on September 16th, 2009 at 12:18 am
Hi, Katie,
So you know what you’re missing. That’s a blessing and a curse, I think. You really can make everything you miss. I promise! If there’s anything else you’d like a recipe for, let me know and I can post one, I’m sure.
Warmly,
Nicole
Posted on September 20th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
I can not wait to try this!!! I’m still doing without so many favorite foods because of celiac. But family and friends invite me over and try their ‘finds’ on me… and I love it!
Thank you, Nicole!
Pam
Posted on September 21st, 2009 at 1:08 pm
Hi, Pam,
You are most welcome. How lovely that your family and friends take such good care of you. They sound like keepers!
Warmly,
Nicole
Posted on September 21st, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Hi Pam, what a great web site. I’m new to gluten free living, and this is a godsend! Is there a way to make GF popovers that really puff up like regular ones? Marie
Posted on September 21st, 2009 at 6:04 pm
Sorry, Nicole– got your name wrong! Marie
Posted on September 22nd, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Hi, Marie,
Yes, you can definitely make gluten free popovers. Of course! I haven’t posted a recipe so far for popovers, but I will sometime soon. And no problem about my name.
Warmly,
Nicole
Posted on September 25th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Nicole,
I just tried the Deep Dish Banana French Toast last weekend. I’m dairy sensitive as well so just made the appropriate substitutions there and it was wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing these recipes! I’m referring all of my GF family & friends to your website.
Thank you again!
~ Michelle
Posted on September 26th, 2009 at 6:03 pm
Hi, Michelle,
You’re very welcome. I’m so glad you enjoyed this. Thank you for posting. And thank you for referring your friends and family. Keep reading!
Warmly,
Nicole
Posted on September 28th, 2009 at 3:21 am
This will be a nice replacement for bread pudding. I have some really heavy and dry raisin bread that I can use. I refuse to throw it away because of recipes like this one. Now I know that money will not be going down the drain.
Posted on September 30th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
Hi, Brenda,
Waste not, want not. NO money down the drain. NO unspoiled food down the drain! That raisin bread will live again!
Warmly,
Nicole