12 sl (about 3/4 in. thick) French
Bread
1/2 c Butter — melted
4 c Half-and-half
1 1/4 c Sugar
10 Egg yolks
1 ts Vanilla extract
1 pn Salt
4 lg Peaches, peeled, pitted —
And thinly sliced
1 c Toasted pecan halves
Vanilla ice cream or whipped
Cream — for accompaniment
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Brush bread with some of the melted
butter. Put bread slices on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown
(about 10 minutes).
2. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, bring half-and-half to a
simmer (bubbles will appear at edge of pan). In a 3-quart bowl, beat sugar
with egg yolks; whisk hot half-and-half into egg-sugar mixture. Stir in
vanilla and salt; set aside.
3. Pour remaining butter into a 9- by 12-inch baking dish. Place 6 bread
slices in dish; strain half of egg-custard mixture through a wire mesh
strainer over bread. Distribute sliced peaches over bread-custard mixture;
top with pecans. Arrange remaining bread over fruit and strain remaining
egg-custard mixture over bread. Let stand 1 hour, covered with plastic
wrap, or refrigerate up to 6 hours.
4. If refrigerated, remove from refrigerator about 2 hours before serving.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Bake, uncovered, until golden brown and
slightly crusty (about 1-3/4 hours). Serve warm, cut into squares and
topped with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Yields
9 Servings
