There is no more iconic dish in the Easter Spanish than the French toast, but it is a dish whose origin has to do, in fact, with the Jewish Passover.
So says the historian Alvaro Lopez Asensio that, in his book The kitchen of the Jews in Sepharad in the Middle Agesexplains that the current torrijas have their origin in what the Sephardim called “arrucaques”.
This prototorhyja It was made with unleavened bread, which is prohibited during the Jewish Passover, whose dates coincide with the Christian Holy Week (logically, since Christ celebrated the Jewish Passover at the Last Supper, eating unleavened bread: the host).
It is this condition that the Israeli uses David Bibi Katzalma mater of the Madrid cafeteria Katz, to make its spectacular French toast.
“Passover celebrates the passage from slavery to freedom, 40 years in the desert,” Bibi explains to DAP. “Because they did not have time in the desert, nor the means, they ate the matzo, that is, without fermentation. That is why on Passover you cannot have fermented bread at home, it is prohibited”.
Although the hebrew bakery It is legendary. During Easter, bagels or challahs are exchanged for all kinds of pan fruits, without yeast: there are sweets very similar to churros or pestiños in all the countries where there has been a Jewish community.
But the French toast as such arose in Spain, from Sephardic hands. And it wasn’t exactly like now. It was even better.
A particularly fluffy French toast
“What the Sephardim did in their day is emulate yeast using the whites of the eggs”, he explains, a resource that today is still common in many confectionery preparations to give volumes to the masses without the need for yeast.
In Katz they make a bread using matzo flour which is mixed with egg whites until stiff, bathed in beaten egg and baked. It is with this very spongy and light bread that the French toast is then made following the traditional method: bathed in milk, coated in egg and fried.
The result is a traditional-looking French toast, but with a particularly soft and creamy interior, which in no way detracts from the qualities of a good French toast, but rather improves them. delicious.
They are sold at 2.70 euros per unit and in three flavors: traditional, with Baileys and semi-sweet oloroso. “Alcohol also forms a big part of the feast at the table in the Jew’s dessert,” explains Bibi. “The drunkfor example, also come from the Jewish heritage”.
During this Holy Week, the buns from Arcos de la Frontera (Cádiz) are also working in the Katz workshop, another type of sweet that fascinates Bibi for its uncertain origin.
“It is a bun with a Muslim touch, but with jewish body”, Explain. In fact, it is not known what the origin is, because we are talking about the border, so it is not known if it comes from the Muslim part or from the Jewish part. It is peculiar, it really caught my attention, the raw material used, especially anise and sesame”.
In DAP | History of the French toast
In DAP | Typical Easter sweets