The French toast is a very famous dish, it´s easy to make and you have probably tried it before. Although this is an international meal and it´s eaten in many places of the world, there are a few variations and one of them is only made in Spain, it is the… Torrijas! Also called Spanish bread pudding for the European people and Spanish French toast for the Americans.
Torrijas of Spain: Spanish bread pudding
The Spanish bread pudding is originally from Spain. It´s one of the most popular traditional Spanish desserts all over the country. It is also a famous dessert in South America since the Spaniards discovered America.
In Spain, the torrijas are cooked in many different ways, and even have different names for it depending on the regions. For example, you can find the Torrijas Castellanas, las Torradas Gallegas or the Tostadas Vascas, they are very similar and just have few changes.
One thing in common between all the Spanish communities is that everyone eats Spanish bread pudding on eastern. Torrijas could be eaten during the whole year, as there are delicious, but everyone waits until the spring break to cook it and eat it!
Spanish bread pudding recipe
The torrija is a very easy dessert to cook and there are many ways to make them. It is not a very hard recipe and in about 20 minutes total, it will be ready. This is all you need to know about the Spanish bread pudding recipe:
Torrijas ingredients
- Between 4 and 6 slices of bread (French baguette sliced or white bread)
- 3/4 cups of milk
- 1 big egg
- Olive oil
- Optional ingredients: Vanilla extract and/or cinnamon sugar
How to make Spanish bread pudding
- Pour milk and egg (optional vanilla) on a bowl and beat it all together
- Place oil on a frying pan (cover the bottom). Medium heat.
- Have the pan and the bowl together. Place a slice of bread on the milk mixture and keep it there for some minutes, when both sides are fully soaked quickly put it on the frying pan.
- Keep and flip the bread on the pan until both sides are golden
- That´s the end of the Spanish torrija recipe. Enjoy it!
Torrijas history
There are some stories about Spanish bread pudding during the IV and V century, but in general, most of them say the origin of the torrijas is from the XVI century. It is said that the torrijas were used to give energy to the mother when having a baby.
Other stories say that the origin comes from the poorest people of the towns, who used the bread that had more than a few days, to cook it and transform it into a delicious dessert.
Latter on, the torrijas were used as the dessert for the Lent, for the spring break and Easter. The reason was to replace the forbidden meat during this time of the year. This tradition is still alive now a days in Spain, so whenever you are ready to try the authentic Spanish torrijas, visit the country during spring break!