Ideas for making the most of bread at Christmas

When planning any Christmas gathering, we tend to overestimate quantities—and that includes bread and pastries. We buy a few extra loaves just in case; suddenly everyone decides to show up with a roscón for the afternoon snack or a cake for breakfast, things like that. The result is a stock of leftover crumbs and bread that ends up going stale—a real shame.

There are many ways to make the most of leftover bread: grating it to use in croquettes (once again, waste-free cooking) or other breadings; venturing into our grandparents’ recipes and surprising everyone with migas or garlic soup; making croutons (the best friends of hot chocolate); preparing a bread pudding; or even getting ahead of Easter with some torrijas…

But for these special dates, we suggest a slightly more chic recipe. We’re talking about pain perdu, also known as French toast. This dish is not only a delicious way to make use of stale bread, but it also carries a special meaning during the holidays: transforming what seems like a leftover into a bite that warms both the soul and the senses. And the best part is that you can get fantastic results with any pastries you have on hand—brioche, milk rolls, sweet buns, and of course, roscón de Reyes.

And speaking of making the most of things, we prepared ours using a pan from the Forged Steel Eco range, which uses up to 50% less energy and ensures perfect results without anything sticking.

These are the ingredients:

• 4 slices of bread or pastries from the previous day, such as sliced bread, brioche, roscón…
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of milk (you can use whole milk or a plant-based alternative)
• 2 tablespoons of sugar (optional)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• A pinch of salt
• Butter for cooking
• Icing sugar or cinnamon to taste for sprinkling
• Maple syrup , honey or red berries to serve

Let’s go step by step:

First, prepare the mixture. In a bowl, beat the eggs and gradually add the milk, the sugar (if needed), the vanilla extract, and the salt. You can add a pinch of cinnamon or star anise for a special touch. Mix well until everything is fully combined.

Now for the bread or pastries. Ideally, they should be from the day before—or even older—because that gives them the perfect texture to absorb the mixture. If they’re still too fresh and fluffy, lightly toast them to firm them up a bit.

Dip each slice into the mixture that you have beaten, soaking well on both sides. Leave to rest for a couple of minutes so that it absorbs more, but without letting it soften too much.

Heat the frying pan over medium heat with a tablespoon of butter. When hot, add the slices and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and crispy to your liking.

Remove from the heat and finish it off with whatever you like best. In our case, we sprinkled icing sugar and added some berries to give it a touch of color and freshness. You might prefer cinnamon, a splash of liqueur, honey, maple syrup… just make the most of whatever you have—that’s the whole idea.

During the holidays, turning leftovers into something extraordinary is a perfect way to share good moments around the stove. Enjoy!