For someone who claims she doesn’t like bananas, I can’t believe this is my second banana-centric post. I prefer to think that general distaste for bananas is a testament to how amazing these recipes truly are, because somehow they’ve broken me down, brought me metaphorically to my knees, begging for more bananas! And once again, it was with my boyfriend that I was brave enough (and thank goodness I was!) to venture into unknown banana waters, only to discover that sometimes, only sometimes, I positively love bananas.

I had just moved into my new flat in March and was risking falling into a black hole of renovation project when Colin decided to surprise me with a visit and distract me from paint, cleaning supplies, and hardware. It’s largely unfurnished state luckily drove us to go out to breakfast, when after a lengthy search on our favorite review site we landed in our new favorite bakery-café. Everything is so delectable and perfect that Colin claims he would order mustard-smeared olives and pickles (his three wont-eat’s) if they were on the menu.

If you have several hours to spare, I’ll gladly dissect every dish I’ve ever tried from this particular neighborhood gem, but since you probably don’t, suffice it to say: cinnamon challah French toast and warm banana syrup. Need I go on? Its only fault is that, until today, I had to walk about 9 blocks to get to it.

I would love to bake all of my own bread, but like the average employed person I find baking bread to be too time-consuming to do it often. I made an exception for the greater good of this French toast because the cinnamon challah makes it wonderfully airy. This recipe makes one humongous loaf of bread, so I feel like a certain portion could easily be frozen and thawed for future French toast delight. (Do I plan to exercise such self-control? Of course not!) In any case, it’s not a challenging bread recipe because all of the ingredients are basically just dumped together into a large bowl, mixed, left to rise, rolled out, rolled up, left to rest, and then baked into a 4-pound piece of heaven!

The bread can be made one or several days in advance. The French serve French toast as a dessert, not a breakfast (and I certainly condone eating this rendition in the evening as well as the morning!), and they call it pain perdu, or lost bread, meaning they soak stale bread in egg and milk to make it soft and edible again.

Cinnamon Challah French Toast (adapted from Creative Loafing)

For bread:

• 1-3/4 cups lukewarm water
• 1-1/2 tablespoons yeast
• 1-1/2 tablespoons salt
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1-1/4 cup canola oil
• 7 cups bread flour
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

For egg wash:

• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon water

Per slice of French toast:

• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons milk or half and half (for richer toast)
• 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Mix the yeast, salt, eggs, sugar, and oil with the water in a large bowl. Add the flour and mix without kneading, using a spoon or the dough hook attachment on a standing mixer.

2. Cover bowl with a damp tea towel and allow to rise in a warm place (hello, outside in summertime!) for at least two hours. At this point, dough can be refrigerated for up to a couple of days. Cold dough is easier to handle. 

3. Turn dough out of bowl onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly with your hands. Form into a loaf shape and use a rolling pin to roll out into a large rectangle. The larger the rectangle, the more cinnamon swirls you’ll have. 

4. Sprinkle the dough with the cinnamon and lightly rub with your hands until evenly distributed. Roll up the dough, starting on the widest side so the loaf is longer. Take care to roll the loaf so the loose end is on the bottom and tuck under ends. Place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. If dough has been refrigerated, allow to rise for 1 hour and 20 minutes; if not, allow to rise for 40 minutes.

5. 15 minutes before bake time, preheat the oven to 350ºF. Whisk together ingredients for egg wash and brush the top of the raw loaf with the wash.

6. Bake for 30-40 minutes depending on the width of your loaf, or until top is shiny and brown. Allow to cool. Enjoy a slice in the meantime.

7. Whisk together the ingredients for the French toast and pour into a shallow, flat-bottomed container. Soak the slices of bread for several minutes, turning once to get both sides, and cook in heavy skillet until golden brown on both sides. Move to a warm oven (200ºF) until all pieces have been cooked, then serve with warm banana syrup (recipe follows) and fresh banana slices. 

Warm Banana Syrup

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 banana, mashed

1. In a small saucepan, stir together all ingredients. Place over low heat and stir frequently with a whisk until thick and golden, about 15-20 minutes.