Fotzelschnitten — Swiss Fried Cinnamon Bread

Ingredients

• 6 thick slices day-old white bread or zopf
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp cinnamon sugar
• Pinch of salt
• Apple sauce, for serving

Method

1. Whisk the eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a wide dish.
2. Soak the bread 30 seconds per side — long enough to be saturated, short enough that it does not fall apart when lifted.
3. Melt half the butter in a skillet over medium heat until it foams. Fry the slices 3 minutes per side, until deep gold and crisp at the edges but still custardy inside.
4. Add the rest of the butter between batches; the pan will drink it and the crust is better for it.
5. Dredge the hot slices in cinnamon sugar and serve with cold apple sauce. In Switzerland this counts as dinner on a Thursday, and they are not wrong.