Farm to Market’s holiday panettone makes the best French toast

Kansas City’s Farm to Market Bread Co. will begin shipping loaves of its popular holiday breads – German stollen and Italian panettone – on Friday. The limited-edition breads will be available at most local stores that carry Farm to Market breads, but only through December 31.

The Milanese-style panettone, a traditional holiday yeast bread in Italy, is most frequently baked in a tall cylindrical pan and is made with raisins, citron, pine nuts and anise. This year’s Farm to Market version is made with dried cranberries, bits of candied orange and a sprinkling of toasted almonds on the surface.

The panettone makes a pretty gift…and even better French toast.

Cutting the round loaf into thick slices and soaking them in a mixture of egg, eggnog, and spices makes for a beautifully golden, custardy French toast.  For a wildly decadent version of a panettone French toast, there’s the Giada De Laurentiis creation, found here.

Or there’s this version, adapted from a handwritten recipe in a box I found at a garage sale. I use panettone instead of Wonder Bread.

PANETTONE FRENCH TOAST

Serves six

2 eggs, beaten slightly
1-1/2 cups eggnog
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or rum flavoring
10-12 slices of Farm to Market panettone

Directions

1. Whisk eggs, eggnog, spices and vanilla (or rum flavoring) in a mixing bowl until well blended. Pour the mixture into a shallow dish.

2. Preheat an electric skillet to 300 degrees F or set a frying pan on medium-high heat on the stovetop. Lightly grease the electric skillet or, on the stove, a frying pan, preferably cast iron.

3. Dip one slice of bread at a time into the eggnog mixture, being sure to coat each side thoroughly. Because the panettone slices quickly soak up the liquid, they can get heavy during this process, use a spatula to turn and lift each slice.

4. Gently place the prepared bread slices into the preheated skillet (or frying pan) and cook, turning once, until golden brown on each side. Place cooked slices on a serving plate and cover with foil to keep warm until all the slices are cooked. Serve immediately.