DEFINITELY NOT YOUR MOMMA’S French Toast

French toast was my favorite childhood breakfast. Two slices of bread drenched in eggs & milk, fried, then slathered with butter & drowned in maple syrup. What’s not to love, right?

Old-school French toast is great for every day breakfasts, but sometimes you want to give ‘em the old razzle-dazzle.

I’ve got the perfect recipe for you. Our Brick House on Main (BHOM) baked French toast takes those lowly slices of bread and elevates them to a photo-worthy offering. How do I know? Well, based on the number of guests who reach for their phones to take a picture before they dig in, I’d say this dish probably has it’s own social media followers. It’s definitely our most-requested breakfast, especially with returning guests.

BHOM French Toast is simple to make, and it uses the same ingredients as regular French toast. It’s also very versatile. (see below)

Bread is the main ingredient. Please. I’m begging you… Do NOT use any of the mass-produced pre-sliced loaves from the bread aisle at your grocery store. A good loaf of bread will yield a better result. You won’t be happy if you use a cheap bread. And, unlike most French toast recipes, this one does NOT call for brioche or challah bread. This dish is rich enough with just plain country Italian or French bread. You can also use a French baguette.

Important note - THIS IS A MAKE-AHEAD BREAKFAST. The bread needs to spend time soaking up that lovely eggy mixture, so you’ll want to prep everything the night before - or up to 2 days ahead.

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED FOR 4 SERVINGS:

Good crusty bakery bread, cut into bite-size cubes. You’ll want about 4-5 cups of cubes. Do NOT remove the crusts. Don’t worry if they’re not all the same size. No one will know.

Cutting bread into cubes for baked French toast

Eggs - at least 3, or you can add an extra one if you prefer it more eggy.

Whole milk. I use 1/2 cup (4 oz.) for each egg, so 3 eggs = 1 1/2 cups (12 oz.). If you’re lactose-free you can use FairLife or an alternate milk.

Butter - 2 tablespoons, melted. Do not omit this. It helps the top get brown & crispy. You can also use coconut oil, but do NOT use regular cooking oil.

Sweetener - 1 tablespoon real maple syrup OR brown sugar. Or any other sweetener of your choosing - cane sugar, maple sugar, date sugar, etc. Syrup mixes in better than granulated sugars, but they’ll all taste great. I don’t use artificial sweeteners in my kitchen, so I can’t guarantee results if you use them.

Vanilla - 1 tsp.

Cinnamon - 1/4 tsp.

Salt - just a pinch

What to do: Melt the butter, then mix it with the milk, eggs, sweetener, vanilla, cinnamon & salt. Stir with a whisk or electric mixer to blend thoroughly. Add the bread cubes and stir to make sure they’re all soaking up the liquid. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. I like to use a container with a tight lid so I can occasionally flip it upside down & make sure all of the bread gets thoroughly saturated. Or you can just stir it a couple of times.

IN THE MORNING…

Preheat oven to 350°. Remove bread mixture from the fridge. Line ramekins with parchment paper, then fill with eggy bread. It’s okay to fill a bit above the rim. The parchment will help hold things in place.

Put the ramekins into the preheated oven and cover them loosely with a piece of foil. This will keep the top from browning too quickly.

Bake covered for 20 minutes, then uncover and bake for an additional 25 minutes. Carefully remove ramekins from oven and set onto cooling rack.

Next grab the corners of the parchment and lift the parchment and French toast from a ramekin. Set it down on a plate so you can peel the parchment away from the sides. Use a metal spatula to lift the french toast & place it into a bowl. Do the same for the rest of the ramekins.

How do you want to dress it up? Berries look great on top. Or a thin slice of orange twisted as a garnish is also lovely. If you want to keep it simple, just dust with powdered sugar and you’re ready to serve.

If you’re making a larger batch in a casserole dish I’d suggest baking covered for 35 minutes and uncovered for 20 minutes.

How versatile is this recipe?

You can add fruit or chocolate chips into the bread mixture or sprinkle a streusel topping* on it before baking. If you want to add apples, pears or peaches, I’d suggest cooking them the day before to cook down the liquid; otherwise your finished product might be too wet.

For an adult event, add 1 1/2 tsp. bourbon or rum to the egg mixture.

You can add fresh fruit after baking.

Pumpkin French Toast - For this variation simply add a few tablespoons of canned pumpkin plus 1/2 tsp. of your favorite pumpkin pie spice to the eggy mixture. A bit of streusel topping makes it even more delicious.

Or you can make it savory with cheese and cooked sausage. Just for fun, try cheese, sausage & a ribbon of your favorite jam drizzled into the mixture before baking.

*STREUSEL TOPPING -

In a medium bowl mix 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and a pinch of salt. Add 4 T softened butter and mix well. Add 1/2 cup chopped pecans, if desired. Sprinkle liberally on top of bread before baking. This can be made in advance, sealed in a jar, and stored in the fridge until needed. Leftover streusel can be sealed in a jar & stored in the fridge or freezer for six months.

If you wish to increase the amount of servings, simply double or triple the ingredients. For larger batches you can bake it in a casserole dish, cake pan or ramekins, depending on whether you want to serve family-style or have individual servings. Here at BHOM we bake it in individual ramekins, because the end result is prettier. It’s up to you. A muffin tin would even work in a pinch, but I’d lower the baking time since it’s a smaller portion.

Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a comment below.