Sweet Fried Bread

Sweet fried bread is a simple and delicious recipe, perfect for using up stale bread and transforming it into a tasty sweet treat. Here’s how to proceed:

Ingredients

• Stale bread, sliced
• Milk, about 250 ml (or as needed to soften the bread)
• Sugar, 2 tablespoons
• Eggs, 2
• Grated lemon zest, 1 teaspoon
• A pinch of salt
• Oil for frying (vegetable or olive for a more intense flavor)
• Powdered sugar or ground cinnamon for garnish

Preparation

1. Start by soaking the slices of bread in milk until they become soft. You can slightly warm the milk to speed up the process, but be careful not to make it too hot.

2. In a bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar, lemon zest, and a pinch of salt until you get a homogeneous mixture.

3. Take the slices of softened bread, squeeze them slightly to remove any excess milk and dip them one by one into the egg mixture, making sure they are well coated.

4. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. To test if the oil is ready for frying, you can dip a wooden spoon handle into it: if you see small bubbles around it, the oil is ready.

5. Fry the soaked bread slices for a few minutes on each side until they become golden brown and crispy. Remember to turn them gently to prevent breaking.

6. Once fried, transfer the bread to a plate lined with paper towels to remove excess oil.

7. Serve hot, sprinkling the sweet fried bread with powdered sugar or cinnamon to taste.

Curiosity

This is a very popular recipe in different cultures with minor variations, for example, in Spain, it is known as “torrijas” and is typically consumed during Holy Week. It is a dish that combines the recovery of no longer fresh bread with the pleasure of a comforting sweet.