Orange Pumpkin Ginger French Toast

Tweaked my French Toast recipe, discovered baking the slices first and trying different kinds of bread worked better. I figured out how to make it excellent! If you don't have orange extract on hand, use the zest of one orange and 1 tablespoon of the juice, or just leave it out. The photo is old and does that feature the ciabatta bread. Thanks Soundly Vegan for the suggestion!

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1 15-ounce can pumpkin or 1 cup fresh pumpkin puree*

1 1/2 cups unsweetened rice milk

1 teaspoon orange extract

1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 tablespoon arrowroot

1 tablespoon flax meal

1-2 teaspoons ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch of sea salt

1 loaf ciabatta bread, cut in 1/2 inch slices

Olive oil spray

preparation

Whisk together all ingredients in a medium bowl, except the bread and oil, until well combined. Let sit for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil baking sheet. Dip each piece of bread in the batter, coating completely, and brushing off any excess. Place on baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes, flipping at the halfway point. When ready to start frying bread heat skillet with oil over medium flame. Place as many pieces of bread will fit in skillet and fry each side until medium brown or darker. Repeat until all the bread is gone.

Serve hot with Earth Balance, organic maple syrup, and a sprinkle of cinnamon if you please.

To make pumpkin puree: Take a 2-4 pound pumpkin, cut off the stem then cut in half. Scoop out the seeds and stringy bits. Lay face down in a casserole dish with 1 cup of water. Cover with foil. Bake pumpkin at 400 degrees F for 45 minutes or until flesh is soft. Scoop out flesh from the skin and puree in a food processor until smooth. Refrigerate in airtight container up to 1 week or freeze in a plastic bag up to 3 months.

chef note: Baking the French toast first dries it making it easy and less messy to fry. If you prefer not to fry it after, bake for 10 minutes on each side. Keep in mind that it won’t brown as nicely.