French toast is to me as waffles are to Leslie Knope.
I simply cannot get enough of it.
French toast used to be an almost-empty fridge meal for me: As long as I had milk and a couple of eggs and bread, I could make it. Dinner: Rescued.
And then I got serious about my French toast and started making an actual custard to dip my bread in. With lots of eggs and milk and some sugar and flour and definitely cinnamon and vanilla.
Just when I thought I couldn’t love French toast any more.
I’m never going back. French toast is no longer a we’re-almost-out-of-food-but-I-don’t-want-to-grocery-shop meal for me; It’s a meal I plan for and look forward to all week when it’s on the menu.
So much so that this recipe has me motivated to buy a griddle. Solely for the purpose of making French toast. I’m sure I would use it for other things as well, but you know I’m serious about a recipe when I consider adding a kitchen appliance to our crammed kitchen just so I can make it more easily.
I use brioche for this, which makes for deliciously thick and fluffy pieces of French toast. Texas toast, French/Italian bread are all good options here.
It goes without saying (but I’m saying it anyway) that this is best served with copious amounts of butter and maple syrup and powdered sugar.
Old-Fashioned French Toast
The best homemade French toast! This recipe uses a thick custard with cinnamon and vanilla to dip your bread in. Grill in butter and serve with lots of syrup.
Ingredients
- 8 eggs
- 1 1/4 cups whole milk
- 2/3 cup flour
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 16 slices (about 1 pound) thick bread
- 6 tablespoons butter
For serving: powdered sugar, butter, syrup
Directions
- Combine eggs, milk, flour, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt in a medium bowl. Mix until smooth. Transfer to 9×13 inch pan.
- Heat skillet or griddle over medium-low heat. When hot, add 1 tablespoon of butter.
- Dip each slice of bread into egg mixture for 10 seconds per side. Shake off excess and transfer to skillet. Grill 2 minutes per side, until golden brown. Add more butter to skillet as needed to grill all slices.
- Serve hot with powdered sugar, butter, and syrup.
I like to transfer cooked French toast slices to a baking sheet in a 250 degree oven so everything stays warm while waiting for the rest of the loaf to cook.
Depending on how absorbent your bread is and how much custard you shake off after dipping, you may end up with some extra. This will keep in the fridge up to 5 days. Just mix up before using!
