Best French Vanilla Orange Bread Recipes

HINT-OF-ORANGE FRENCH TOAST

Steps:

• Place the bread in an 11x7-in. baking dish. In a small bowl, beat the eggs, milk, orange juice, orange zest and vanilla. Pour over bread; turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight., In a large skillet, cook French toast in butter over medium heat for 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Dust with confectioners' sugar or serve with syrup if desired.

ORANGE-VANILLA FRENCH TOAST

Steps:

• Slice the bread 3/4-inch thick.
• Arrange in single layer in a well-greased 15 x 10-inch jellyroll pan.
• In a medium bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, orange juice, whipping cream, orange rind, vanilla and salt to blend well.
• Pour over the bread slices in the pan, turning to coat well.
• Cover; refrigerate for about 6 hours.
• Grill or bake.
• To grill; melt the butter in a skillet or flat grill.
• Add the bread in batches; cook to brown on both sides.
• To bake: heat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Cover a large baking sheet with foil, and grease.
• Put bread slices on the foil in a single layer; bake 13-15 minutes, turning after 10 minutes.
• Garnish with orange slices and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

ORANGE BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and both sugars together with an electric mixer. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then mix in the orange juice, vanilla, and orange zest. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, orange zest, and vanilla and mix together well. Generously butter and flour a 10 inch bundt pan and scoop the batter into it, smoothing the top with a spatula. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the sides shrink away from the pan and the center of the loaf springs back. Cool the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a round platter. Sprinkle a little confectioners sugar over the top of the bread and serve warm or at room temperature, accompanied by small pots of cranberry butter.

ORANGE-VANILLA MONKEY BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 F.
• Fill a large ziptop bag with the granulated sugar, salt and orange zest. Seal the bag and shake it around until the zest and sugar are totally combined. Cut the chilled biscuits into quarters. Add the biscuit pieces to the bag, seal it and shake/toss it around until all the biscuit pieces are coated in the orange sugar. Pour the pieces into a bundt or tube pan and set aside.
• In a medium pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the brown sugar, vanilla and orange juice until just barely combined. Pour the mixture all over the biscuit pieces, scraping the pan to get all the butter/brown sugar out. Let it settle for a second, then place the pan in the oven.
• Bake until the top of the biscuits are golden brown, about 25 minutes. Transfer the pan to a rack and let it sit for at least 10 minutes (but no more than 15), then turn the cake out of the pan onto a cake plate. Let cool briefly before serving.

CLASSIC FRENCH TOAST

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200 degrees, and place a wire rack on a sheet pan inside.
• In a shallow bowl, whisk the eggs, additional yolks, milk, vanilla (if using) and salt until foamy and smooth. Set aside. Place a small lump of butter (enough to coat the bottom of the skillet when melted) in a large, heavy nonstick skillet over low heat. It will melt very slowly.
• When butter is just melted and bubbling, raise heat and bring to a sizzle. Place 2 slices of bread in the bowl with the egg mixture. Turn them a few times in the mixture until evenly saturated, about 5 seconds on each side. Do not soak.
• Lift a slice out of the egg mixture, gently shake off any excess, and place in the pan. Repeat until the skillet is full, and let the slices cook at a sizzle for about 2 minutes, until just turning golden brown on the bottom.
• Add another small lump of butter to the pan and flip the slices over, swirling the pan so that the fresh butter coats the bottom. (This will allow the second side to brown.)
• Continue cooking over low heat until the second side is golden brown. Dust with cinnamon sugar, flip again, and dust the other side. Test for doneness by pressing the center: The dent should slowly spring back. If it remains, the interior is not yet cooked. Continue cooking at low heat, flipping occasionally, until done. Serve immediately, or transfer to the oven to keep warm while cooking remaining bread. Serve as soon as possible. Top with maple syrup, berries, jam, sliced bananas, orange supremes - whatever you'd like.