Strawberry Cream Cheese French Toast

Have you ever wondered how square loaves of bread are made? I have to admit that that’s a question that’s never crossed my mind. I just never really thought about it. But when I saw these pullman loaf pans, it was a moment of enlightenment that I didn’t know I needed until then.

So, the question remains: what is a pullman loaf?

The pullman loaf is often referred to as sandwich bread, with straight sides and a flat top, making each slice a perfect square.

Often times we see sandwich bread used for, obviously, sandwiches, but also french toast.

We carry the pullman pan from USA Pans. They have been providing the world’s leading commercial bakeries with the highest quality baking pans for over 50 years. Whether it is superior pan materials, methods of manufacturing or overall design features, when you purchase a USA Pan you are buying products that meet industrial standards for innovation, quality, and durability. Put simply, their pans are the best available and are proudly produced in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

They also coat each pan with Americoat Plus, a proprietary silicone coating that nearly all North American bakers prefer over dark non-stick coatings.  Americoat Plus is a clear non-stick, environmentally friendly coating that is specifically formulated for superior baking and does not contain any PTFE’s or PFOA’s.

So, we’ve come up with this Strawberry Cream Cheese French Toast recipe so you can enjoy your pullman bread in the best way imaginable. All the components in this recipe are a must. The sandwich bread you make is more dense than store-bought breads, which doesn’t allow as much of the egg and milk mixture to soak in. And that’s a good thing. Too much soaking equals soggy french toast.

The cream cheese sweetened with honey makes it taste like you’re eating a cheesecake. Maybe we should have named it Strawberry Cheesecake French Toast.

And nothing beats homemade strawberry syrup. When you’re chopping your strawberries, you can speed up the process by using our strawberry/mushroom slicer. Instead of wires that the traditional egg slicer has, the strawberry/mushroom slicer has stainless steel blades that won’t bend while slicing harder things. I like to use it for small fruits, olives, and softer vegetables. Needless to say, it’s one of the most used gadgets in my kitchen.

Go ahead and make some of this deliciousness. It would make an awesome Valentine’s Day breakfast. Or if you’re feeling a little rebellious, why not have it for dinner?

Strawberry Cream Cheese French Toast

For the bread:

3/4 cup warm water
1 package SAF instant yeast
1 tsp salt
1-1/2 T sugar
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup milk
3 cups all-purpose or spelt flour, approximately

In large bowl, add the warm water. Slowly stir in dry yeast. Continue to stir until yeast is dissolved. Add salt, sugar, shortening, and milk to bowl. Stir. Mix in the first 2 cups of flour.

If needed, begin adding more flour, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough forms a ball.

Turn dough out onto floured board and knead, adding small spoonfuls of flour as needed, until the dough is soft and smooth, not sticky to the touch.

Put dough in buttered bowl, turn dough over so that the top of dough is greased. Cover and let rise in warm spot for 1 hour.

Punch down dough. Turn out onto floured board and knead.

Lightly grease a 9 x 4 Pullman Loaf Pan. Transfer the risen dough to a lightly greased work surface, shape it into a 9-inch log, and fit it into the pan. Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise until it’s just below the lip of the pan, 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the warmth of your kitchen

Remove the plastic, and carefully place the cover on the pan, let it rest an additional 10 minutes while oven preheats to 350°F. Bake the bread for 25 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven, carefully remove the lid, and return the bread to the oven to bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until it tests done; an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center will register 190°F.

Remove the bread from the oven, and turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool completely.

*Bread recipe slightly modified from USA Pan.

For the Cream Cheese Spread

1 8 oz. package cream cheese
1/4 cup honey

Combine cream cheese and honey and mix well.

For the Strawberry Syrup

3 cups strawberries
1 cup sugar
2 T lime juice1/2 tsp vanilla

Roughly chop strawberries. (I like to use the strawberry/mushroom slicer and then run through them with a knife.) Put in a medium sauce pan and add remaining ingredients.

Bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer until reduced by 1/3, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

For the Hot Fudge Sauce

1 cup of butter
1 (14oz.) can of evaporated milk
1 cup good quality chocolate, chopped (I used my favorite, Venician)
2  1/2 cups of powder sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Place the butter, evaporated milk, chocolate, and powdered sugar in a medium-sized sauce pan over medium-high heat. Stirring constantly, bring the mixture to a boil and continue to boil for 6 minutes.

Remove from heat and whisk the vanilla into the hot fudge.

For the French Toast

12 slices of the sandwich bread you just made
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
2 T sugar

Whisk together eggs, milk, and sugar. Dip slices of bread into the mixture and place on a hot griddle. Cook on each side until nice and browned.

Top with cream cheese, strawberry syrup, and hot fudge sauce. Dust with powdered sugar if desired.