Orange blossom French toast with honey labneh and oranges

Method

1. Heat the oven to 100°C with a wire rack set over a baking tray. Finely grate the orange zest, about 2 g without the white pith, directly into the deep baking dish. Peel the orange with a knife, removing all the bitter white pith, then cut into pieces over a bowl to catch the juice. Remove the pips, sprinkle with a pinch of cinnamon and leave to macerate while cooking. Roughly chop the pistachios with a knife.
2. Add the sugar, remaining cinnamon and salt to the zest in the dish and rub together with your fingertips, distributing the cinnamon through the sugar without lumps. Add the eggs and whisk for 1 minute, until the sugar no longer feels gritty on the bottom, then whisk in the milk and 6 g orange blossom water. In a bowl, beat the labneh with the remaining orange blossom water (3 g) and 5 g honey until smooth and glossy.
3. Heat 10 g butter in the 24 cm frying pan over a medium-low heat. As it begins to melt, lay two challah slices in the egg mixture for 45 seconds to 1 minute per side, until their centres feel soft under a finger but the slices hold together. Let them drip over the dish for 2 seconds, then lay in the butter, which should be foaming and only just beginning to turn golden. Immediately put the other two slices into the remaining egg mixture.
4. Cook for 3–4 minutes without moving the slices, until the undersides are golden brown, a light caramel colour, and slide freely when the pan is shaken. Add 5 g butter, turn with a wide spatula and cook for another 2–3 minutes: the second side should be golden, a thin crust crackle under the spatula, and the centre spring back when pressed with a finger rather than release liquid. Lower the heat if the butter darkens before the bread is golden. Meanwhile, turn the soaking slices: they should absorb all the remaining mixture. If a little liquid remains, soak for 1 more minute. Never pour any egg mixture into the pan.
5. Keep the first batch on the oven rack, uncovered so its crust stays crisp. Wipe the pan with kitchen paper, add 10 g butter and cook the second batch in the same way, adding the last 5 g butter when turning. These slices are more thoroughly soaked and fragile: lift with the wide spatula and let them drain over the dish for a few seconds. If the centre still releases liquid when pressed after cooking the second side, cover the pan and cook over a low heat for 1 minute.
6. Serve two slices per person with a generous spoonful of orange blossom labneh, the orange pieces and their juice. Scatter the pistachios over the bread and labneh, finish with a drizzle of honey (10 g) and eat immediately while the crust is crisp.