Arme Ritter (German "Poor Knights")
Day-old kaiser rolls halved, soaked in sweet egg milk, fried golden in clarified butter and rolled in cinnamon sugar, Germany's frugal French toast.
The German Wikipedia article says the oldest written German recipe is in the 14th-century "Buch von guter Speise" ("Book of Good Food"), quoted in the Brothers Grimm's German dictionary, which calls the dish "arme ritter" fried in fat; German texts from 1572 and cookbooks from 1598 describe it much as it is still made, and a 1606 cookbook calls it "Gueldene Schnitten", golden slices. It goes by many regional names: Rostige Ritter, Semmelschnitten, Pofesen (probably from the "Pavese" shields of Pavia), and Fotzelschnitten in German-speaking Switzerland, Alsace and southern Baden. Cooks use halved rolls or slices of white bread soaked in milk or cream with eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt, fried in clarified butter, and serve them with powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar, often with vanilla sauce.
The German food magazine Lecker says the dish began as simple food for poor people, eggs beaten over stale bread and fried, and that English speakers call it eggy bread or "Poor Knights of Windsor". No source we opened explains the name. In German it is poor knights; America named the same dish after the French.
Why it works the kitchen science
Day-old rolls
Crusty rolls that have dried out overnight drink up the egg milk like a sponge and keep their shape, which fresh rolls won't.
Clarified butter
With the milk solids removed it can fry at a higher heat without burning, so the outside turns crisp and nutty while the inside stays soft.
Step by step
- Step 1
Whisk the eggs, milk, 2 tbsp sugar and salt in a wide, shallow dish.
- Step 2
Lay the roll halves cut side down in the egg milk and soak 2 to 3 minutes, then turn them and soak 1 to 2 minutes more, until soft all the way through but not falling apart.
- Step 3
Mix the 1/4 cup sugar and the cinnamon on a plate.
- Step 4
Heat half the clarified butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Lift the halves out, let the extra drip off and fry them, cut side down first, 2 to 3 minutes per side, until deep golden brown.
- Step 5
Check the thickest one: the center should read 160°F. If not, lower the heat, cover the pan and cook 2 minutes more.
- Step 6
Roll the hot halves in the cinnamon sugar right away so it sticks. Fry the second batch in the rest of the butter and serve warm.
Arme Ritter (German "Poor Knights")
Serves 4 · 8 halves · 30 min total
Egg milk
- 5 large eggs
- 1 cup plus 1 tbsp (1/4 liter) whole milk
- 2 tbsp sugar (or 1 packet vanilla sugar)
- Pinch of salt
Bread and frying
- 4 day-old kaiser rolls (Brötchen), halved crosswise
- 3 tbsp clarified butter or ghee
Cinnamon sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Method
- Whisk the eggs, milk, 2 tbsp sugar and salt in a wide, shallow dish.
- Lay the roll halves cut side down in the egg milk and soak 2 to 3 minutes, then turn them and soak 1 to 2 minutes more, until soft all the way through but not falling apart.
- Mix the 1/4 cup sugar and the cinnamon on a plate.
- Heat half the clarified butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Lift the halves out, let the extra drip off and fry them, cut side down first, 2 to 3 minutes per side, until deep golden brown.
- Check the thickest one: the center should read 160°F. If not, lower the heat, cover the pan and cook 2 minutes more.
- Roll the hot halves in the cinnamon sugar right away so it sticks. Fry the second batch in the rest of the butter and serve warm.
Adapted from Lecker, "Arme Ritter: süße und herzhafte Rezeptideen" (recipe card dated February 12, 2023). Lecker's egg milk is 5 eggs, 1/4 liter milk, 1 to 2 tbsp sugar (or a packet of vanilla sugar) and a pinch of salt; halved stale rolls or thick slices of white bread soak 2 to 5 minutes and fry in clarified butter (Butterschmalz) 2 to 3 minutes per side. Lecker gives no serving count; 4 kaiser rolls for 4 servings, medium heat and the 160°F check are ours. Cinnamon sugar is the topping both Lecker and German Wikipedia name. LECKER. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (2)
Tips
- German Wikipedia's serving ideas: powdered sugar, maple syrup or cinnamon sugar, often with vanilla sauce.
- Lecker's soak is long on purpose: up to 5 minutes for very dry rolls.
- Leftover sandwich bread or a stale baguette works too.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- The name means knights too poor to buy meat. Folklore: German Wikipedia doesn't explain the name, and Lecker only says it began as food for poor people.
- The oldest German recipe is from the 14th century. Documented (German Wikipedia, citing the Buch von guter Speise via the Grimm dictionary).
- Pofesen are named for knights' shields. Documented as the likely origin: German Wikipedia says the name "probably" comes from the shields of Pavia.
- Use rolls, not sliced bread. Folklore: German Wikipedia lists both halved rolls and white bread.
- Lots of egg. Disputed: Lecker uses 5 eggs to 1/4 liter of milk; America's Test Kitchen's diner French toast uses 1 egg for 5 slices to avoid an eggy taste (our American Diner French Toast recipe).
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