Poor Knights on a Plate

This post is all about a yummy Swedish-German dish related to both pancakes and bread pudding (and not at all about the islands off the northern coast of New Zealand.) In my house, we serve both American and Swedish pancakes, but when there is too little time for those, we turn to “Poor Knights.”  They are white bread dipped in Swedish pancake batter and then fried. The recipe is easy and they don’t need to be on the stove for very long. We follow the Swedish tradition and serve them as a substantial dessert after a bowl of soup.

This is what you need for 4-6 people:
4 eggs
2 cups whole milk
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
24 oz white bread (e.g. country buttermilk), not too fresh
1/4 – 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
Butter for frying pan/griddle.
Beat the eggs in a large bowl (wide enough to hold a slice of bread).
Add 1/2 the milk and mix.
Add flour and beat until smooth.
Mix in remaining milk, salt and cinnamon.
Soak a slice of bread, lift it up with a spatula and put in heated and buttered griddle/frying pan. Use medium heat and fry them golden brown on both sides. Serve warm with apple sauce.
The American relative of “Poor Knight” is French Toast, but “Poor Knights” have flour added to the milk-and-egg batter. Variations on this are common all over the world and a good way to make a tasty dessert from stale bread. The odd name has triggered many interesting discussions around our kitchen table as to why the poor “kniggets” were so poor. What comes to your mind?
Elisabeth