Ham and Cheese French Toast Roll Ups

1. You must use fresh bread for this recipe, not stale bread (which I normally preach for french toast recipes). The reason is that fresh bread compresses better when you flatten it with a rolling pin (stale bread springs back) and also sticks to itself a bit when you roll it up, sealing the roll perfectly.

2. You can use any cheese you want for these, so long as it is a good melting cheese. I used Jarlsberg slices because that is what I had. Make sure each slice is roughly the size of the bread so when you cut the cheese into sticks, it will fill the width of the bread.

You can use cheese sticks if you want, but I recommend cutting them in half lengthwise otherwise, I feel there is too much cheese for the amount of bread there is. Then cut them to length to the width of the bread before placing on it and rolling it up.

You can also just use grated cheese. Just scatter a pinch along the length of the bread.

3. You can make these the night before (I haven't tried any longer than 12 to 15 hours ahead). To make these ahead, roll up the french toast, then dip them VERY quickly in the egg mixture and shake the excess off. Then place them seam side down in a container or baking dish (you can stack them) so they fit snugly. Save the egg mixture.

When you are ready to cook, preferably bring them to room temperature. Quickly dip the roll ups in the egg mixture again before cooking. There should be enough egg mixture because you just dip them in very quickly, as opposed to soaking them.

The purpose of the first dip is to keep the bread moist and to ensure they stay rolled up. I found that sometimes (depending on the bread) the roll ups unrolled and dried out a bit. So a quick dip in the egg solved this.

4. Save the bread crusts! Here are two ideas for some nibbles you can make with them: Parmesan Thyme Bread Crust Treats and Cinnamon Sugar Bread Crust Treats.

5.Nutrition assumes this serves 3.