Eggy bread, otherwise known as French toast, is one of the simplest and most unsophisticated yet comforting breakfasts imaginable.

It also makes a great afternoon snack.

The basic concept is a slice of bread, soaked in beaten egg and fried, but the dish can be eaten savoury or sweet and personalised in many ways.

This is a great way to use up old or even slightly stale bread, as it soaks up more of the egg mixture without falling apart or going soggy.

For savoury eggy bread, count on about one egg per slice of bread, beat and add a dash of milk and salt and pepper.

The Indian version of this dish adds a shot of green chillies and chopped onion at this stage.

Soak your bread in the egg for a minute on each side or until well-saturated, while you melt a little butter in a frying pan over medium heat.

Fry the bread until golden and gently crispy on each side.

Serve plain or with Marmite, bacon, mayonnaise or ketchup, according to taste.

Those with a sweet tooth should add a teaspoon of caster sugar, a few drops of vanilla essence and half a teaspoon of cinammon to their egg mix before soaking and frying.

The resulting, faintly sweet eggy bread is delicious served dusted with icing sugar, butter, fruit, Nutella, drizzled with honey or golden syrup, with jam or yoghurt, or even with super-indulgent clotted cream and cherry compote.

In France, this sweet version is sometimes served as a dessert topped with ice-cream, or made into a sandwich using two slices filled with fruit.