French Toast Perfected

French Toast is one of those recipes that I go to when I teach little kids to cook.  I’ll show the group of wannabe chefs milk, eggs and bread and ask how they would make breakfast.  I’ll  get suggestions of scrambled eggs, toast and a glass of milk.  Then I show them what I would do.  I mix the eggs and milk together, throw in a little sugar and cinnamon and toss the bread in.  I ask the kids if they’re ready to eat and predictably, I’m met with shrieks of “ooh”, “yuck”, etc.  Then I throw some butter in the pan, fry the bread and break out the maple syrup and I got ’em hooked!

While the recipe for French Toast is pretty simple, a few techniques and attention to ingredients will make all the difference between home-made and professional.  The first thing is the bread.  It must be a rich and hearty bread, preferably challah or brioche.  And the second is to dry the bread in the oven, don’t let it just stale out on the counter.  Bread left to stale on the counter dries out on the surface only, trapping moisture inside the bread.  Drying bread in the oven removes more of the moisture so that more of the custard can be absorbed.  You also don’t want to completely dry the bread out either, just remove enough moisture so the bread remains firm but gives a little when pressed.

This is the best French Toast. All it needs is a little more butter and (real) maple syrup.  No stuffing, powdered sugar or fruit garnish.  Enjoy.

French Toast

  • 8 slices challah or brioche, 1/2″ thick
  • 12 ounces milk, warmed
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar, light
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ground, (Penzeys Extra Fancy Vietnamese Cassia Cinnamon)
  • 2 tablespoons butter, unsalted, melted, plus 2 tablespoons for cooking
  • ¼ teaspoon salt, fine
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • maple syrup (Grade “B”), warmed, to serve
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300℉ degrees. Place bread on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet. Bake bread until almost dry throughout (center should remain slightly moist), about 16 minutes, flipping slices halfway through cooking. Remove bread from rack and let cool 5 minutes. Return baking sheet with wire rack to oven and reduce temperature to 200℉ degrees.
2. Whisk milk, yolks, sugar, cinnamon, 2 tablespoons melted butter, salt, and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Transfer mixture to 13- by 9-inch baking pan.
3. Soak bread in milk mixture until saturated but not falling apart, 20 seconds per side. Using firm slotted spatula, pick up bread slice and allow excess milk mixture to drip off; repeat with remaining slices. Place soaked bread on another baking sheet or platter.
4. Heat ½ tablespoon butter in 12-inch skillet over medium-low heat. When foaming subsides, use slotted spatula to transfer 2 slices soaked bread to skillet and cook until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and continue to cook until second side is golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes longer. (If toast is cooking too quickly, reduce temperature slightly.) Transfer to baking sheet in oven. Wipe out skillet with paper towels. Repeat cooking with remaining bread, 2 pieces at a time, adding ½ tablespoon of butter for each batch. Serve warm, passing maple syrup separately.