The Forgotten Pantry Staple That Takes French Toast to the Next Level

French toast is one of those standard breakfast dishes that I personally don’t think too much about. I’m a noted savory gal and cook sweet dishes in the morning extremely rarely. If I’m breaking out the sugar bowl at breakfast time, it’s only for something extraordinary — a berry-studded skillet pancake, jam and cream cheese stuffed kolaches, or a chocolate babka for instance. I am not immune, however, to the whims of others, and recently found myself making a batch of French toast at the request of a guest. In search of a way to zhuzh up a dish I find kind of boring — without fundamentally changing the flavor profile — I came across one of my favorite baking ingredients, that works just as well here as it does in any cookie dough: malted milk powder. 

While many people associate it only with milkshakes, malted milk powder is an unassuming ingredient that can add a ton of flavor to lots of things. I’ve long used it to add a nutty, caramelized flavor to baked goods like chocolate cake and cookies, and a few teaspoons absolutely transform homemade whipped cream (try it once and you’ll never go back to the regular stuff). But I’d never thought to add it to French toast. A little bit mixed into the dredge with the eggs and milk elevates regular old French toast into a fancy brunch place-worthy delight. It’s a true game-changer.

• Look for malted milk powder. “Malt powder” is made from malted barley (or other grains) and wheat flour. Malted milk powder is malt powder combined with dried milk powder. The milk adds a creamy, buttery flavor that you don’t want to miss. 
• Taste before frying off the whole batch. I like the flavor of malted milk powder a lot and add about a tablespoon to the egg and milk dredge for French toast for 2 people (2 to 3 eggs, 1/2 cup-ish of milk). There’s no magic ratio, though, and how much you like in your toast will be up to you. My advice is to start with a small amount, dredge one slice of bread and fry it off before continuing with the others. That way you can adjust the amount to your taste.
• Remember that it adds sweetness. French toast is meant to be sweet, but if you typically add sugar to your recipe, you might want to reduce the amount of sugar in your recipe, since malted milk powder will add a bit of sweetness on its own.