Panettone French Toast

Since I've been in a new relationship this year, I've gone out to breakfast more in the past year than probably all the previous years put together.  One of my favorite things to order is french toast.  I've become particularly obsessed with french toast made with unusual types of bread.  I've had french toast made with banana bread, blueberry muffins, zucchini bread and cinnamon rolls.  In honor of the Christmas season, I decided to make my own french toast using Italian panettone.

Panettone is a sweet bread that's usually around at Christmas time.  There are lots of different variations, but they usually include some sort of candied citrus peel and raisins.  

For my french toast I used the whole panettone and that made enough for 4-6 people.

Slice the bread into 3/4 inch thick slices.  Then prepare the french toast batter.  You can use your favorite or I used 6 eggs, about 3/4 cup milk, 1 tsp vanilla and a heavy pinch of salt.

Butter or grease a griddle and cook the slices until golden brown on the outside.  I like to pull my french toast slices off the heat before they are fully set and keep them warm in a 200 degree oven until ready to serve.  Since the batter is basically a custard it will continue to set up even after it is removed from the pan.  

Serve with powdered sugar, maple syrup or like my family does it with lots of butter and white sugar.