Pear and Gorgonzola-stuffed French toast

For the bread dough, place all of the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, rub in the oil and add enough of the tepid water to form a workable dough. Turn the dough out onto a clean, dusted work surface and knead until smooth and stretchy but not sticky, 5 minutes. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and set aside in a warm place until double in size, about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Grease and line a 20cm x 10cm (or similarsized) bread loaf tin with baking paper.

For the filling, heat the butter and thyme in a frying pan over medium heat, and fry the pears until caramelised and cooked through, 5 – 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Lightly dust a clean surface with flour and roll out the bread dough into a 17cm x 28cm rectangle. Top with the caramelised pears and crumbled blue cheese and roll, pinching the ends together. Place in the prepared bread tin, seam side down, and set aside to prove, 15 minutes.

Whisk together the egg and milk and brush a little of the mixture over the bread dough. Bake in the oven until the bread is cooked through and golden on top, 30 – 35 minutes.

Remove the bread from the oven and place on a rack to cool before cutting into 1cm-thick slices.

Dip the slices into the egg mixture. Heat the butter in a frying pan over medium heat, and fry the egg-dipped slices until cooked through and golden, 2 minutes on each side. Season and serve with maple syrup and fresh thyme.