By Steven Raichlen
Updated Oct. 12, 2023
- Total Time
- 40 minutes
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 25 minutes
- Rating
- 3(221)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Though variations on French toast abound, this torrijas recipe hails primarily from Spain, where the bread slices are first soaked in wine or milk and beaten eggs, then pan-fried until golden and finally dusted with cinnamon sugar or drizzled with honey. You’ll find many approaches to pain perdu (French for “lost bread”), all of which speak to an ancestral desire to turn a stale staple into edible comfort food. The use of Malaga or cream sherry (sweet wines from southern Spain) plants this recipe firmly in the Spanish camp. With its large surface area, the hot griddle permits you to cook it off in just one batch.
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Ingredients
Yield:4 to 8 servings
- 8(¾-inch-thick) slices brioche, country-style white bread or baguette (if using the latter, slice it on the diagonal), preferably slightly stale (see Tip)
- 5large eggs
- 1teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½teaspoon finely grated orange zest
- ½teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (or more orange zest)
- 2cups half-and-half
- ¾cup sweet wine, like Malaga or cream sherry (or more half-and-half)
- ¾cup granulated sugar
- 1tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ¼teaspoon ground cloves
- 5tablespoons unsalted butter, or as needed
- Honey (optional), for drizzling
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
526 calories; 26 grams fat; 14 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 57 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 31 grams sugars; 13 grams protein; 314 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
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Arrange the bread slices in a single layer in a large baking dish or deep baking sheet.
Step
2
Place the eggs, vanilla and all the zest in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the half-and-half and wine. Pour this mixture over the bread slices, turning to coat both sides. Soak the bread until soft, 10 minutes.
Step
3
Meanwhile, combine the sugar, cinnamon and cloves in a small bowl; set aside.
Step
4
Heat your griddle to medium-high (400 degrees). If using a gas-fired griddle, set it to medium-high. If using a freestanding cast-iron griddle, plancha, the flat side of a grill pan or a large cast-iron skillet, heat it on your stove over medium-high heat or over a direct fire on your grill. To check the temperature, shake a few drops of water onto the griddle. When properly heated, the water will evaporate in 1 to 2 seconds.
Step
5
Impale half the butter on a fork then rub it over the griddle to grease it. When the butter bubbles, gently transfer the bread to the griddle, leaving an inch or so between each slice. (You may need to cook in multiple batches.) Cook until browned on the bottom, 2 to 3 minutes.
Step
6
Melt the remaining butter between the bread slices. Flip them onto the buttered griddle and cook until the bottoms are browned, another 2 to 3 minutes.
Step
7
Transfer the torrijas to a platter or plates. Dust with the cinnamon sugar and drizzle with honey, if desired.
Tip
- Tradition calls for the bread to be a little stale (and is a good way to use up stale bread), but you’ll also get great results with fresh bread.
Ratings
3
out of 5
221
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Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Juliet
Sorry, but this is in no way an authentic recipe for Torrijas. In Spain, the milk is first "aromatizada" by heating it with cinnamon and/or lemon and a little sugar, then cooled. The bread is soaked in milk only. Not egg and milk. Then the soaked bread is dipped in the heated egg before frying. And, as Jen indicated, fried in olive oil (or sunflower oil, like my Spanish mother-in-law used in Madrid), not on a griddle.
Ricard Granum
Before everyone jumps on this for being in authentic, sure it's not traditional but it doesn't mean there's only one way to make it. Of note, the Torrija served at Boqueria (well regarded Spanish tapas restaurant) is made with their bread soaked in milk+egg custard. Recipe from their cookbook (co-authored by their executive chef is Barcelonian Marc Vidal) doing it this way is on their site.
Samuel
This is more of a pain perdu recipe with some Spanish ingredients than a Torrija recipe. As Juliet said, the bread is soaked in the aromatized milk only. It is dipped in egg just before frying (in olive oil). I am sure it produces a good and tasty result, it is just not Torrija.
Mari
This recipe is not for a tortilla, it's for a torrija.
N
My Spanish mother and grandmother would never use half and half! And certainly not wine! (Internal sobbing.) I don't know why the sheer simplicity of Spanish cuisine intimidates and confounds Americans as much as it does. With all due respect to the other commenter, Boqueria is far from the authority on Spanish cuisine, even if "well-regarded" by some in this country.
Jen
After procuring the dustiest bottle imaginable of Cream Sherry from the bottom shelf at the liquor store, we made this last night. (We like breakfast for dinner.) Followed the recipe faithfully, except we used Challah. Loved it. Will make again. Served with chicken & apple sausage and fresh blueberries.I tasted the sherry in a glass first. ZERO STARS DO NOT RECOMMEND.
Jen
Actually, tortillas should not be made on a griddle—they should be (deep) fried in olive oil.
Mike
I made this with Spanish Sherry, not the Sweet Cream variety, on Pepperidge Farm white, and it was really great. A classic.
Joel
I didn't have wine so I subbed orange triple sec from the bar cart and I liked it.
Sandy
Put a the slices of bread in 9 x 13 pan. Covered with egg mixture. Baked 30 minutes at 400. Terrific. Low work. Depending on breads absorption, soaking it before putting in oven really will determine your cook time. I used a Safeway Italian and the bread came out a custard but the flavor was great.
Diane
I enjoyed this recipe- I liked the flavor of the sherry and zests in the torrijas, and the slight variation on the cinnamon sugar (I had a vast amount left over, which I have put in jars for other uses). I used whole wheat bread that wasn’t very stale, so it didn’t soak up much of the egg/dairy mix, so I’m going to make more with the retrieved soaking mix. And I served it with fresh fruit, but I imagine it would also be good with a compote, if one were feeling like cooking fruit.
Golem
I don't know whether this is "authentic" or not and I doubt that there is only one way in Spain to make this dish which looks pretty good to me whatever the myriad differences. Frankly, the inevitable complaints as to whether a recipe for a national dish is "authentic" are becoming tiresome. However, the photo appears to show several slices of bacon on the torrijas which do not show up in the recipe. Am I missing something or is it a wishful vision.
R
As some of the other commenters have noted, this is definitely an Americanized version of torrijas. For the milk (rather than wine) version, the bread is soaked in milk that's warmed with cinnamon, lemon rind, and a little bit of sugar. It is only then dipped quickly in the beaten eggs, and then deep fried, so that the egg forms a crust around the custardy middle.
Antonio
My mother made Torrijas every Easter (Semana Santa tradition). I have also made Torrijas in restaurants in Madrid. I can with high level of confidence say that this recipe is not traditional per se - I’m sure taste great!, moreover there’re many variations of torrijas/french toast in Europe. The Castillan Torrija is simple: Stale slide baguette (2/3 days old); sock in milk w/ some sugar for 3/5m ; batter in egg; fry in olive oil, sprinkle w/ cinnamon & sugar & cooldown in room temp for 3hrs
N
My Spanish mother and grandmother would never use half and half! And certainly not wine! (Internal sobbing.) I don't know why the sheer simplicity of Spanish cuisine intimidates and confounds Americans as much as it does. With all due respect to the other commenter, Boqueria is far from the authority on Spanish cuisine, even if "well-regarded" by some in this country.
Mike
I made this with Spanish Sherry, not the Sweet Cream variety, on Pepperidge Farm white, and it was really great. A classic.
Jen
After procuring the dustiest bottle imaginable of Cream Sherry from the bottom shelf at the liquor store, we made this last night. (We like breakfast for dinner.) Followed the recipe faithfully, except we used Challah. Loved it. Will make again. Served with chicken & apple sausage and fresh blueberries.I tasted the sherry in a glass first. ZERO STARS DO NOT RECOMMEND.
Ricard Granum
Before everyone jumps on this for being in authentic, sure it's not traditional but it doesn't mean there's only one way to make it. Of note, the Torrija served at Boqueria (well regarded Spanish tapas restaurant) is made with their bread soaked in milk+egg custard. Recipe from their cookbook (co-authored by their executive chef is Barcelonian Marc Vidal) doing it this way is on their site.
Samuel
This is more of a pain perdu recipe with some Spanish ingredients than a Torrija recipe. As Juliet said, the bread is soaked in the aromatized milk only. It is dipped in egg just before frying (in olive oil). I am sure it produces a good and tasty result, it is just not Torrija.
Juliet
Sorry, but this is in no way an authentic recipe for Torrijas. In Spain, the milk is first "aromatizada" by heating it with cinnamon and/or lemon and a little sugar, then cooled. The bread is soaked in milk only. Not egg and milk. Then the soaked bread is dipped in the heated egg before frying. And, as Jen indicated, fried in olive oil (or sunflower oil, like my Spanish mother-in-law used in Madrid), not on a griddle.
Jen
Actually, tortillas should not be made on a griddle—they should be (deep) fried in olive oil.
Mari
This recipe is not for a tortilla, it's for a torrija.
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