By Mike Armstrong.

HOW do eggs sell newspapers? Eggstra, Eggstra, Read all about it! Who’s hungry then?
This week I have a cracking recipe that always hits the spot called French toast.
It is one of those ‘’Happy Foods’’ that always brings a smile to everyone’s face, but despite its saucy name, it is an eminently practical dish to make.
It is designed to transform an elderly, sad looking loaf into a delicious “egg-stra special” quick snack.
So to start with, lets educate the rest of the country about this simple snack.
Although we call French toast ‘’Eggy Bread’’ in our neck of the woods, in other parts of the UK it is also known as “Knights of Windsor”, “Gypsy” or “Bombay toast” and is commonly eaten for breakfast, as part of a lazy Sunday morning brunch or maybe whipped up for a midnight snack on return from a night out on the tiles.
But whenever you decide to eat it, you need a good egg recipe as some are not all they are cracked up to be.
First we need to get back to basics and look at the type of bread which is always of paramount importance to me, with or without the crusts depending on how fussy the kids are.
The texture must be soft, using a simple white loaf, sour, gluten free or organic of good quality, which responds well to a good dunking in egg without the interior dissolving into a rich gooeyness.
But frankly I don’t think the bread needs any more in the way of egg and a splash of milk.
I do prefer the plainer more savoury flavour of good quality eggs and bread. I like the bread to be somewhat on the stale side and cut into chunky slices, which creates a pleasing contrast in consistency between the inner and outer parts of each slice.
Because the bread is a little stale, it does require a good soaking to make it palatable.
Keeping it simple is the key here. Use British free-range eggs for a coating, as it is always good to know the chickens are having a good life running around in the fields and is well worth paying a little extra for them to support British farmers as well.
Some recipes can be more complicated than others, but after all it is eggy bread and we like to taste eggs for breakfast.
I’m a big fan of the shorter soak, as in the egg mixture should penetrate the interior of the bread, but each slice shouldn’t be left to begin dissolving into mush.
The thirty seconds rule is needed here and this feels about right, especially when you are hungry and in a rush in the morning and may have run out of Cornflakes!
For flavouring salt and pepper is mandatory and frying really is the only way to make proper eggy bread, but not in ordinary butter as it tends to burn.
So use a little vegetable or sunflower oil, which will solve the problem without you ending up with egg on your face and setting off the smoke alarm!

RECIPE

Eggy Bread. Serves four portions.

Ingredients

4 thick cut slices of white bread

4 good quality British free-range eggs

A splash of milk

Pinch of salt

Pinch of freshly ground black pepper Sunflower or olive oil for frying

Method

1. Crack four large free range into a large dish or similar container

2. Add to the eggs a good splash of milk

3. Grate over the black pepper with a pinch of salt

4. Using a fork, whisk lightly till all is combined well

5. Over a medium heat, pour a little oil into a frying pan

6. Dip one of the four slices of thick cut bread into eggy mixture for 30 seconds each side, with or without the crusts

7. This 30 second rule is useful, as the time it takes to cook a piece of bread is the same as soaking another. It means you don't have to wait around and leave one to get cold

8. Place the eggy bread into the frying pan and gently fry each side for two minutes till golden in colour

9. Once cooked, serve as a meal on its own or with baked beans and bacon

Baker Mike's top tips

* One egg will make one eggy bread

* The kids can do everything here. They love cutting the crusts off the bread, cracking the eggs into the bowl and beating them with a fork. They can even break up the crusts and help threw them outside for the birds

* This might seem strange, but make sure you ventilate the kitchen well while you're cooking these as they really make your clothing smell of eggy bread (it's a nice reminder of breakfast that lasts all day!)

Bread Quote

When I was growing up, I never heard anyone pray. ''Give me this daily bread.'' It was always, ''Give us this day our daily bread'' That stuck. We're all in this together!