**The Ultimate French Toast Recipe: Apple Pie Stuffed and Creme Anglaise Dipped**

When it comes to breakfast dishes, few can rival the majesty of French toast. And when you add apple pie spice to the mix, the possibilities become endless. In this article, we'll explore a recipe that will take your French toast game to the next level: Apple Pie Stuffed French Toast with Creme Anglaise.

**The Secret to Making the Perfect French Toast**

To start, you'll need a few basic ingredients: Challah bread, eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. But what really sets this recipe apart is the addition of fresh spices like cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and cloves. These will give your French toast a depth of flavor that's reminiscent of apple pie itself.

**Whisking Together the Perfect Custard**

In a large bowl, whisk together two egg yolks, one quarter cup of sugar, and one teaspoon of vanilla extract (or one tablespoon of vanilla paste). If you want to get really fancy, now's the time to add in those apple pie spices: half teaspoon cinnamon, quarter teaspoon ground cardamom, quarter teaspoon ground ginger, and an eighth of a teaspoon ground cloves. Whisk until it's smooth and creamy.

**Tempering the Eggs for a Perfect Custard**

Next, you'll need to temper the eggs by slowly streaming in a third cup each of heavy cream and whole milk over the egg mixture while whisking constantly. This will help prevent the eggs from scrambling and create a silky-smooth custard.

**Cooking Down Apple Sauce with Brown Sugar and Cinnamon**

While your French toast custard is chilling, let's make some apple sauce to go along with it. Peel and thinly slice two large Granny Smith apples, then sauté them in two tablespoons of butter until they're nice and brown, soft, and have made their own sauce. Don't forget to season with a little bit of kosher salt and maybe some leftover apple cider concentrate if you've got it.

**Making Creme Anglaise: The Ultimate Ice Cream Alternative**

Now it's time to make the real showstopper: creme anglaise. This is essentially a pre-ice cream made by heating cream and milk until they reach 185 degrees Fahrenheit, then whisking in the egg yolk mixture until it's smooth and glossy.

**Assembling the French Toast Sandwiches**

With both your apple sauce and creme anglaise ready to go, it's time to assemble the French toast sandwiches. Slice a thick piece of Challah bread (the best you can get), dip it in the creme anglaise, then place a slice of Challah on top and some sautéed apples in between. Drizzle with more creme anglaise and serve.

**The Anova Precision Oven: A Game-Changer for Home Cooks**

One of the most exciting developments in home cooking has been the rise of precision ovens like the Anova Culinary. These ovens use steam to start the baking process and encourage a perfect rise, along with dry heat to finish and develop a crust. They also have features like wet and dry bulb thermometers that ensure you don't overcook anything. For more information on how to get your hands on an Anova Precision Oven, check out the link in the video description.

**The Verdict: A Recipe Worth Trying**

So there you have it: Apple Pie Stuffed French Toast with Creme Anglaise. It's a recipe that's sure to wow even the most discerning breakfast enthusiasts. With its perfect balance of flavors and textures, it's an absolute must-try for anyone looking to elevate their French toast game. So go ahead, give it a shot – your taste buds will thank you!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- This episode issponsored by Anova Culinary.They take professional kitchen toolsand make them affordable and easy to use.In particular, I lovethe Anova Precision Ovenfor all of its features.The Anova Precision Oven combinescontrolled steam injectionwith convection cookingand probe-based temperature monitoring,So you can get the precisetemperature control of sous vide,plus the browning of a convection ovenin one easy to use appliance.It also makes for some incredible bread,as you'll see in today'sepisode on Challah.let's get down to basics.(upbeat theme music)All right, so Challah is a pretty easy,enriched bread dough.We're going to start bycombining the dry ingredients,500 grams of bread flour,7 grams or 2 1/4teaspoons of instant yeastand 5 grams of kosher salt.Tiny whisk until homogenous.Then in a separate bowl, the wet stuff.Two large eggs, plus one large egg yolk,given that this is avery rich and eggy bread.And it's also a pretty sweet bread,coming from 80 grams of honey.And it is also rather a fatty bread.So we got to add some fat.60 grams of neutral flavoredoil, like vegetable or canola.We're likewise tiny whiskingthe wet ingredients until the homogenousand then dumping them on top of the dry.And now using a paddle or dough hook,we're going to bring everybody together.And at first you got to noticethat this is a really dry and crumbly mix.And that's when you're going to realizethat you forgot to add the water.125 grams of room temperaturewater, better late than never.Now Challah requireshigh gluten development.So it is ideal to kneadit in a stand mixer,but it can be needed by hand.And just to prove it,I'm going to do half this batch by hand.Because I remember what life was likebefore I had a stand mixer.It's not as fun.It's not as easy, but it is doable.Kind of like going throughlife without socks.So we're kneading for aboutsix minutes in the stand mixer,or depending upon your forearm strength,genetics, and sheer force of will,about 10 to 15 minutes by hand.Either way we want it topass the window pane test.When you grab a little hunk of dough,you want to be able to stretch it outas thin as the laws of physics allow,so that light can freely travel through itlike a little doughy window.You also find that it'spliable, less stickyand can be stretchedinto a taut, smooth ball.So while the stand mixerdough is ready to proofin an oiled, coveredbowl for about 45 minutesat room temperature, or untilit's puffed up by about 50%,depending on how warm your kitchen is.The hand-kneaded ballstill has a ways to go.No matter how you knead it,these guys are proofingin oiled, covered bowlsfor about 45 minutes at room temperature,or until they've puffed upjust a little by about 50%.Now onto the more challenging bit,something I've neverattempted before, the braid.I'm using a scale and mathsto accurately divide mydough into six equal pieces.Each of which I'm going to keepunder cover of plasticwrap to prevent themfrom drying out whileI work with each piece.Once everybody's divided,we're going to grab a piece of doughand pat it out into a rectangle.Just a few inches wide and tallthat we're then going totightly roll into a log.Very similar to the waythat we'd shape a baguetteor most bread loaves.Once sealed shut, we'regoing to start rolling it outinto a sort of torpedoabout 14 inches wide.Trying to keep it thick in the centerand tapered at the tips.You can make your logsfatter in the centerif you want a moredramatically shaped-loaf.However you roll it out,you want to keep relativeuniformity between all logs.Rinse and repeat with theremaining five pieces.Keep everybody under plastic wrap.And now it's time to start braiding.We going to start byarranging these dough logsinto a sort of doughy sunrise pattern,sort of fanned out in front of youwith all the ends on one side touchingand three on each side from the center.Now using the heel of your hand,we're going to pressall the dough togetherand begin the braiding process,which I'm sure somebody elsecan explain more eloquently,but here's my shot.We're going to start bytaking the two strandson the outside of the fanand crossing them over each otherso that they're facingthe opposite direction.I'm going to call these the base strands.Then with Kendall's guidance,we're going to lay the first stranddown the center of thefour remaining strands.Then on the opposite side,the second strand from the bottomis crossing over the braidto become the new base strand.Now we're back to our two base strandsand four other strandsfanned out above them.Now the other base strand,the opposite of the onethat we used last timeis crossing over into the center.The second strand from the bottomcrosses over to becomethe new base strand.And we basically repeat thisprocess until no dough remains.If any of that madeeven a modicum of sense,I consider this a major accomplishment.We're pinching off all the tiny strandsand tucking the pinched endunderneath the bottom of the loaf.There's a pinched loafjoke in there somewhere.And there you have it, a braided loaf,which we're going to placeon a parchment-lined baking sheetand administer the first of twothorough brushings with a beaten egg.Challah has a deep, goldenyellowy, eggy exterior.So make sure you get everylast nook and cranny.Then we're covering looselywith some oiled plastic wrapand letting proof at roomtemperature until doubled in size.This is where the AnovaPrecision Oven can come in handybecause you see, ithas a proofing setting,where it perfectly recreatesa balmy afternoon in Florida in October,about 82 degrees, 60% humidity,the perfect conditions inwhich to proof your bread.You can obviously stilldo this in your kitchen,but it may take more timedepending on how cold your kitchen is.Once doubled in size, we're administeringour second thoroughegg washing of the day.Once every crevice has been egged,it's time to plop this guyinto a preheated 375degree Fahrenheit oven,preferably with convectionfor 18 to 20 minutes.Rotating halfway through bakinguntil it's browned and burnishedand registers about 200to 210 degrees Fahrenheitat it's thickest point.Then this guy's headed onto a rackto cool completely, about four hours.Or to cool slightly if youwant to sink your teethinto some fresh, warm, fluffy Challah.Now, arguably one of Challah'sgreatest uses is in a French toast,for which we're goingto need a bigger loaf.Last batch of dough I usedto make two smaller loaves.So now I'm going to make one big loafout of one batch of the dough.Which because of its greater mass,is probably going to take alittle bit longer to proofand calls for a slightly,longer, cooler bake time,350 degrees Fahrenheitfor 25 to 30 minutes.Which should yield a loaf appropriatefor French toast sized slices.Once this guy's cooled completely,because I forgot to filmit with the other loaf,we're going to take a look at that crumb.It should be very soft,but have a firm structurewith a couple of irregular bubbles,but no big air pockets or gaps.Now, while this obviouslymakes for good eating,especially with some soft, salted butter,to accelerate this guy into French toast,we need to slice him up.Big, thick, hearty slicesthat we're going to arrangeon a rack set in a rimmed baking sheet,and either leave out overnight to staleor dry out in a low temperature oven,200 degrees Fahrenheitfor about two hours.We want to get rid of asmuch moisture as possibleto make more room for sweet,eggy custard to be soaked up.My favorite formula isthree quarters of a cupeach heavy cream and whole milk,four large egg yolks foran extra bit of richness,three tablespoons of dark brown sugar,one teaspoon of vanilla extractor two teaspoons of vanilla paste.About a quarter teaspoonof freshly grated nutmeg,always opt for freshly grated.The zest of one small lemon,than all the apple pie orpumpkin spice greatest hits.Half teaspoon cinnamon, quarterteaspoon ground cardamom,quarter teaspoon ground ginger,and an eighth of a teaspoon ground cloves.Good ahead and tiny whiskthat until it's homogenous.Add a big pinch of kosher saltand plop in or pour over yourdried-out slices of Challah,which depending on how dry theyare can now soak overnight.So you got French toastready to go in the morning.Now this talk of applepie spice gave me an idea,why don't we make some applepie stuffed French toast?We're starting by peelingand thinly slicingtwo large Granny Smith apples.Bring them on over to the stove top,where we're going to saute themin two tablespoons of butter,along with a quarter cup of brown sugarand a little pinch of cinnamon.Sauteing for 5, 10 minutesuntil they're nice and brown,soft and have made their own sauce.Don't forget to season witha little bit of kosher salt.And if you have any of theapple cider concentrateleftover from making apple cider donuts,now's a great time to use it.Totally optional, butit helps make the applestaste like they went to apple schoolto learn just how greatof an apple they could be.Next step, instead of thetraditional maple syrup,we're going to makeourselves a creme anglaiseto sort of emulate the icecream aspect of apple pie.Into a big old heatproof bowlgoes two large egg yolks,a quarter cup of sugar, oneteaspoon vanilla extract,or one tablespoon of vanilla pasteand optionally all those apple pie spiceswe put in the French toast custard.Go ahead and whisk that togetheruntil it's nice and smooth.And then over on the stovetop in a small saucepan,we're combining a third cup eachheavy cream and a whole milk,heating over medium low flameuntil it's just starting to simmer.Taking it off the heatand slowly streaming itinto the egg and sugar mixture,while whisking constantlyto slowly temper the eggsand make sure that they don't scramble.Once everybody's combined,we're going to add themixture back to the pot,clean up the horrible,horrible mess we've made.Head back on over the stove topand place this over lowheat, whisking constantlyuntil it reaches about185 degrees Fahrenheit.Or it has reached the state of nappe,where it richly and glossycoats the back of a spoonand leaves the clean trailwhen wiped with a fingerand has the texture andflavor of melted ice cream,because that's what it effectively is.It's pre-ice cream.Cover tightly and refrigerateor serve at room temperaturebecause now it's timeto fry our French toast.Which we're going to doon a cast iron griddlewith a whole bunch of butteruntil it's nice and lightlybrown on both sides.Then when it's served, we're gonna makea sort of French toast sandwichwith our apples in the middle,top it up with another slice,the requisite pat of butter.Then don't forget strainyour creme anglaisethrough a fine mesh sieve before servingto catch any errant bits ofaccidentally coagulated egg.Drizzle over top and serve.Now while this recipe is not the mosttraditional French toast in the world,there's no denying that Challahgives brioche a run for its moneyas best French toast base.It's rich, it's got a greattexture, it's very pretty,and it's very easy to make.especially with the helpof today's sponsor, to wit.Thanks again to Anova Culinaryfor sponsoring today's episode.I used the oven's steaminjection and convection fanto help create theperfect loaf of Challah.It works just like aprofessional bread oventhat uses steam tostart the baking processand encourage a perfect rise,along with dry heat tofinish and develop a crust.The oven has a ton of other innovations,the wet and dry bulb thermometersmeasure, not only the airtemperature of the oven,but also the surfacetemperature of the foodensuring you don't over cook anythingand get perfect results every time.And cooking in sous vide mode gives youthe edge-to-edge done-ness you getwith traditional sousvide, but without a bag.The Anova Precision Oven also has an appwith recipes, including this one,that can program thecooking times for you.For more information, andto get one for yourself,head to the link in the video description.(upbeat music)\n"