Portuguese “French” Toast… Growing up, this was just plain ole french toast to me! I didn’t realize it was “Portuguese style”.  My mother would make this with whatever bread we had in the house, usually some type of portuguese vienna bread (as you see here) or pop seco roll.  But, it wasn’t unheard of to make it with plain old sliced bread either.  The key is the crispy fried goodness that soaks in all that sugar and cinnamon.

My Vavó (grandmother) used to call these Sopas Fritas, which doesn’t make much sense because literally translated it means Fried Soup.  But, if you understand a bit of Portuguese food history, it will.  The Portuguese make a soup with milk and put stale bread in it called “Sopas de Leite”.  Instead of soup, here we beat eggs and add milk to the beaten egg mixture and dunk day old bread to make fried, well, bread… but it was her quirky way of referring to this delightfully delectable dish.  This was traditionally served on Fat Tuesday before lent for those who could not afford to make Portuguese Malasadas (a portuguese fried dough). Now, we eat it for breakfast, brunch, parties or just as a fun snack.  Kids and adults alike love Fatias Douradas!

Whatever you call them, they are a simple and delicious start to the day.  Definitely a dish the kids can help with!  And one they will surely gobble right up.  Just one more note before we get started.  I have since realized what “actual” french toast is made with sliced bread and topped with maple syrup… this is a bit different and definitely is meant to be eaten sans syrup.  (This is a habit my husband had to be broken of)  But, if you must, you must… just try to enjoy it as is first! 🙂

Start by adding about 1/4 cup of oil to a large skillet. This one is non-stick… a cast iron skillet will work well here too.

Grab a large Vienna bread… or any somewhat crusty loaf of bread. Vienna bread has a medium crust. A good substitution if you don’t have this available would be an italian loaf.

Slice it pretty thickly. These are about 1″ slices.

Place 6 eggs in about 1/8 – 1/4 cup of milk.

Beat eggs vigorously.

Prepare your sugar and cinnamon. This is one cup of sugar and 2-3 T. cinnamon in a shallow bowl.

Mix that with a fork until combined.

Now, set that cinnamon mixture up near your empty platter that will be ready to receive your cinnamon sugar encrusted slices.

Also, set your egg mixture near your prepared, preheated skillet. Proximity really matters in this recipe.

Quickly dunk your bread… you don’t want to over saturate the bread here… so this needs to be done as you are ready to place it in the pan.

Now… fry the egg dunked bread slices in the oil for about 2-3 minutes on each side.

Until golden brown on both sides. Hence the term ‘golden slices’ which is the literal translation to ‘Fatias Douradas’

Immediately dunk fried bread into the cinnamon sugar… do not drain first… you need the oil to soak in the sugar and cinnamon. Then place on your platter. You may notice that some of it melts in… nothing could be better!

Whether you name these Portuguese ‘French’ Toast, Golden Slices, Fatias Douradas, or Sopas Fritas… be sure to call it delicious! Enjoy!

Recipe for Portuguese ‘French’ Toast:

(serves 4)

1 large Vienna bread loaf (or loaf of your choosing)

1 c. white sugar

1/4 c. veg. oil

3 Tbs. cinnamon

6 eggs

1/8 c. milk

Directions:

Pre-heat pan with oil on med/high.

Prepare ingredients:  In a shallow medium sized bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon, set aside.  In a medium bowl beat eggs and milk vigorously, set aside.

Quickly dunk bread.  Fry on both sides for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown.  Immediately dunk in cinnamon sugar mixture.  Plate.

Enjoy!