camp meals

Apple Bun French Toast

Torn buns soaked in reconstituted egg, fried with apple. A skillet breakfast that uses up stale bread.

calories
420
weight
4.5 oz
cal / oz
93
protein
11 g
serves
4, scales
prep
10 min
cook
10 min
total time
20 min
water
150 ml cold
cost
$

Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.

  • Breakfast
  • Canister stove
  • Liquid fuel
  • Grill grate
  • Car camping
  • Basecamp
  • Canoe / raft
  • Vegetarian
  • Nut free
  • One pot
  • Grab and go
  • Shelf stable
  • Basic

Ingredients

Hamburger or hot dog buns 4 stale is better than fresh, it soaks without falling apart
Powdered whole egg 6 tbsp equals 3 eggs; or use 3 real eggs if you have a cooler
Powdered whole milk 1 tbsp
Water about 150 ml for the egg and milk powder
Apple 1 firm ones ride in a pack for days
Vegetable oil or margarine 2 tbsp
Cinnamon 1 tsp
Syrup, jam, or powdered sugar to taste

Method

  1. Whisk the egg powder and milk powder into about 150 ml of cold water until no dry lumps remain. Let it sit two minutes while you deal with the apple.
  2. Quarter the apple, cut out the core, and slice it thin. Peeling is optional and costs you fiber.
  3. Tear the buns into thumb-sized pieces and drop them into the egg. Stir until the bread has taken up all the liquid.
  4. Heat the oil in a skillet over a moderate flame. Too hot and the outside burns before the egg sets.
  5. Add the soaked bread and the apple slices. Cook 5 to 10 minutes, turning with a spatula, until the egg is set and the pieces are browned in spots.
  6. Dust with cinnamon. Add syrup, jam, or sugar at the table.

This is French toast without the fussy business of dipping slices one at a time. Tearing the bread into chunks means every piece gets coated on all sides, and a chunk soaks faster than a slab does. Bread that has gone a little dry works better than fresh, so it is a good use for the buns left over from the first night.

The camp adaptations are the egg and the milk. Powdered whole egg rehydrates into something that sets in a pan just like the real thing, and a tablespoon of milk powder covers the dairy without a cooler. Keep the flame moderate: the apple needs a few minutes to soften, and the egg needs to cook through before the outside of the bread goes dark.

Packing

Egg and milk powder go in one small bag, cinnamon in another. Buns get squashed in a pack, which is fine here since you tear them anyway. Oil rides in a leakproof bottle.

Variations

  • Dried apple rings, chopped and soaked in the egg with the bread, replace the fresh apple on longer trips.
  • A handful of raisins and a spoonful of brown sugar in the soak makes it closer to bread pudding.
  • Swap the buns for any stale bread, tortillas, or leftover bagels.

https://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/recipe/pompom_french_toast-1055.asp