Crunchy French Toast Dippers

Instructions

• Start with bread that's a couple of days old - a little stale and not too fluffy. A loaf of challah, sourdough or firm French bread is good. Cut the bread into slices about 1 in. (2 cm) thick, then cut each slice again into 1 in. (2 cm) wide sticks. Don't worry about removing the crusts - they'll disappear in the cooking.

• In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and flour until smooth. Measure the graham cracker crumbs into another bowl.

• Dip each “stick” of bread into the egg mixture, turning over quickly just until moistened on all sides, then roll in the graham cracker crumbs to coat. Don't let the bread dippers soak too long in the egg mixture because they'll get soggy and fall apart - you just want them wet enough so the crumbs will stick. Place on a plate, and repeat until you've used up all the pieces of bread.

• Pour enough vegetable oil in a frying pan to cover the bottom of the pan. Place over medium heat until a drop of water sizzles in the oil, then add the coated bread dippers, turn the heat down to medium low and fry until golden brown on all sides. Remove to a plate. Do this in batches, add more oil if necessary and keep the heat low so the crumb coating doesn't burn.

• Serve immediately with a small bowl of maple syrup for dipping or - better yet - freeze them and serve on another (frantic) morning. Here's how: Freeze the cooked dippers individually on a cookie sheet, then pack into plastic bags. When you need them, take out as many as you want, arrange on a plate (in groups of 4) and microwave on high power for 1 minute, or until heated through but not rubbery. Don't try to do more than 4 dippers at a time, and don't over-nuke them.