Torrijas (Spanish-Style French Toast)

Name: Torrijas (Spanish-Style French Toast)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 to 8 servings
Cuisine: spanish
Ingredients: 8 (3/4-inch-thick) slices brioche, country-style white bread or baguette (if using the latter, slice it on the diagonal), preferably slightly stale (see Tip); 5 large eggs; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest; 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (or more orange zest); 2 cups half-and-half; 3/4 cup sweet wine, like Malaga or cream sherry (or more half-and-half); 3/4 cup granulated sugar; 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon; 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves; 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, or as needed; Honey (optional), for drizzling

By Steven Raichlen

Updated Oct. 12, 2023

Torrijas (Spanish-Style French Toast) — Andrew Purcell for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Carrie Purcell.

Total Time: 40 minutes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Rating: 4(237)
Comments: Read comments

Though variations on French toast abound, this torrijas recipe hails primarily from Spain, where the bread slices are first soaked in wine or milk and beaten eggs, then pan-fried until golden and finally dusted with cinnamon sugar or drizzled with honey. You’ll find many approaches to pain perdu (French for “lost bread”), all of which speak to an ancestral desire to turn a stale staple into edible comfort food. The use of Malaga or cream sherry (sweet wines from southern Spain) plants this recipe firmly in the Spanish camp. With its large surface area, the hot griddle permits you to cook it off in just one batch.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 8 servings

8(¾-inch-thick) slices brioche, country-style white bread or baguette (if using the latter, slice it on the diagonal), preferably slightly stale (see Tip)
5large eggs
1teaspoon vanilla extract
½teaspoon finely grated orange zest
½teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (or more orange zest)
2cups half-and-half
¾cup sweet wine, like Malaga or cream sherry (or more half-and-half)
¾cup granulated sugar
1tablespoon ground cinnamon
¼teaspoon ground cloves
5tablespoons unsalted butter, or as needed
Honey (optional), for drizzling

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Arrange the bread slices in a single layer in a large baking dish or deep baking sheet.
Step 2
Place the eggs, vanilla and all the zest in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the half-and-half and wine. Pour this mixture over the bread slices, turning to coat both sides. Soak the bread until soft, 10 minutes.
Step 3
Meanwhile, combine the sugar, cinnamon and cloves in a small bowl; set aside.
Step 4
Heat your griddle to medium-high (400 degrees). If using a gas-fired griddle, set it to medium-high. If using a freestanding cast-iron griddle, plancha, the flat side of a grill pan or a large cast-iron skillet, heat it on your stove over medium-high heat or over a direct fire on your grill. To check the temperature, shake a few drops of water onto the griddle. When properly heated, the water will evaporate in 1 to 2 seconds.
Step 5
Impale half the butter on a fork then rub it over the griddle to grease it. When the butter bubbles, gently transfer the bread to the griddle, leaving an inch or so between each slice. (You may need to cook in multiple batches.) Cook until browned on the bottom, 2 to 3 minutes.
Step 6
Melt the remaining butter between the bread slices. Flip them onto the buttered griddle and cook until the bottoms are browned, another 2 to 3 minutes.
Step 7
Transfer the torrijas to a platter or plates. Dust with the cinnamon sugar and drizzle with honey, if desired.

Tip

Tradition calls for the bread to be a little stale (and is a good way to use up stale bread), but you’ll also get great results with fresh bread.

Ratings

4 out of 5

237 user ratings

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Comments

Juliet2 years ago

Sorry, but this is in no way an authentic recipe for Torrijas. In Spain, the milk is first "aromatizada" by heating it with cinnamon and/or lemon and a little sugar, then cooled. The bread is soaked in milk only. Not egg and milk. Then the soaked bread is dipped in the heated egg before frying. And, as Jen indicated, fried in olive oil (or sunflower oil, like my Spanish mother-in-law used in Madrid), not on a griddle.

Ricard Granum2 years ago

Before everyone jumps on this for being in authentic, sure it's not traditional but it doesn't mean there's only one way to make it. Of note, the Torrija served at Boqueria (well regarded Spanish tapas restaurant) is made with their bread soaked in milk+egg custard. Recipe from their cookbook (co-authored by their executive chef is Barcelonian Marc Vidal) doing it this way is on their site.

Samuel2 years ago

This is more of a pain perdu recipe with some Spanish ingredients than a Torrija recipe. As Juliet said, the bread is soaked in the aromatized milk only. It is dipped in egg just before frying (in olive oil). I am sure it produces a good and tasty result, it is just not Torrija.

Joel1 year ago

I didn't have wine so I subbed orange triple sec from the bar cart and I liked it.

Sandy1 year ago

Put a the slices of bread in 9 x 13 pan. Covered with egg mixture. Baked 30 minutes at 400. Terrific. Low work. Depending on breads absorption, soaking it before putting in oven really will determine your cook time. I used a Safeway Italian and the bread came out a custard but the flavor was great.

Diane1 year ago

I enjoyed this recipe- I liked the flavor of the sherry and zests in the torrijas, and the slight variation on the cinnamon sugar (I had a vast amount left over, which I have put in jars for other uses). I used whole wheat bread that wasn’t very stale, so it didn’t soak up much of the egg/dairy mix, so I’m going to make more with the retrieved soaking mix. And I served it with fresh fruit, but I imagine it would also be good with a compote, if one were feeling like cooking fruit.

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