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Hi Bold Bakers!
When it comes to breakfast and brunch, I love diving into a stack of Buttermilk Pancakes or freshly baked Cinnamon Rolls but for me the breakfast of champions truly is French Toast.
French Toast is a classic beloved by kids and adults alike. I think we can all agree that there is nothing bad about thickly cut bread soaked in sweet custard, fried until crispy and golden brown, then smothered in sweet maple syrup. After the success of my Best Ever Brownies and Banana Bread recipes I knew I wanted to bring you into a world of breakfast with my Best French Toast recipe.
Originally, French Toast was created as a way to use up any left over or stale bread. The bread was soaked in an egg and milk mixture then fried off in a pan. While I love how simple this sweet breakfast is, I think it is one hundred percent worth going the extra mile to create the ultimate version.
How to Make French Toast?
Many of you Bold Bakers have asked me how to make French Toast. While you may know the basic steps to making this simple breakfast, I’ve got little tips and tricks to make your French toast restaurant quality. First, you’ll need slices of THICK bread. Something like a Texas toast or, if you are feeling extra fancy, Brioche or Challah. Second is soaking – soak your bread until it absorbs as much custard as it possibly can, preferably done the night before. This is one important step to mastering my best French toast recipe, yielding you a rich and decadent breakfast.
What To Have On French Toast?
I’m topping mine off with fresh berries but feel free to treat yourself to some powdered sugar and your favorite syrup. Fruits like bananas or coconut shavings can be added for extra richness, or have a go in the other direction with Nutella, peanut butter, honey and cinnamon!
Once you make it, your friends and family will be asking for this french toast on repeat!
Don’t miss my other Best Ever Recipes:
- Gemma’s Best Ever Brownies
- Gemma’s Best Ever Banana Bread
- Gemma’s Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Gemma’s Best Ever Irish Scones
Try These Recipes!
Watch The Recipe Video!
Best French Toast Recipe
Ingredients
- 4-5 Thick slices of bread (white or brioche)
- Butter for the bread
- 3 whole eggs
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract , optional
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup (4floz/120ml) cream (any type will do)
- 1 tablespoon (1/2oz/15g) butter
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 400oF (200oC). Butter the slices of bread on both sides.
- In a shallow bowl whisk the eggs, vanilla, sugar, cinnamon and cream.
- Important part: Soak the slices of bread in the egg for as along as you can. I leave it in the custard over night. At least soak the bread for a minimum of 30 minutes. Turn 15 minutes in and soak it on the other side. Lift out and let any extra egg drain back into the dish. The more custard it soaks the better.
- Heat a frying pan over medium-low heat. Brush with some butter to stop the bread from sticking.
- Fry the slices of bread until they are crisp and golden brown on both sides.
- Optional: Transfer the french toast to a baking tray and pop them into the oven for 7 minutes, just to make sure they are fully cooked through.
- Place them on a plate and dust with some confectioners sugar and pour over maple syrup.
- Enjoy while still warm.
Recipe Notes
Hi gemma, can i replace the egg yolks with a common thing? 🙂
Hi Gemma,
Do you have a recipe for corn bread or corn muffin? Thank you
Overnight soakage of the French toast worked perfect for the next day!! I also replaced cream with almondmilk/canola oil substitute and they still came out rich cause of the extra yolks. Such a great Sunday morning 🍞 💛
Ooh aah Gemmaaaa! What a great recipe. I don’t comment often enough though I make a lot of your recipes. But, it’s the ‘regular’ stuff such as the chocolate chip cookies and blondies and soda bread etc…. and this French toast, that totally get me, because there’s a different spin to them that make them stand-out, exceptional and truly BEST! Thanks again for the deliciousness.
It feels so cliche to say but this is called the best french toast for a reason!!! i was actually a french toast hater before this recipe. always too eggy tasting, never enough flavor, and weird texture among many other qualms! but this recipe solves it all. i used a 2 days old french loaf, about 1 inch slices soaked a little over 30 minutes on each side. only change i made was i coated mine in crushed up cereal before frying, just for some extra flavor bc like i said i’m usually not into french toast. but honestly i… Read more »
I have made this twice and LOVE it. Could you soak and fry it the day before, refrigerate overnight and reheat in the oven the next morning?
Hi Gemma,
Can we make French toast salty instead of sweet?? Can we replace salty taste with sugar??
Made the French toast . It turned out delicious . Better than what you get at diners. Thanks Gemma
Hi Gemma!
I’m excited to try this recipe, but need a dairy free option. What would be you pick for a cream substitute?
Can we add cocoa powder to the soaking liquid to give it a chocolate flavor?