Perfect French Toast Recipe (2023)

FAQs

What is the trick to making good French toast? ›

A basic rule of thumb is about 1/4 cup of milk and one egg per two-slice serving—and if you want to avoid that "scrambled" taste, use only the yolks of some or all of the eggs.

Aim for medium-low heat so that the inside can cook and the outside will still get golden-brown and nicely caramelized. Follow this tip: Heat your griddle or frying pan to medium-low before cooking the French toast so it's perfectly cooked on both the outside and inside.

Place sliced bread on an ungreased baking sheet. Broil bread for 1 minute, or until golden brown, then flip and broil for another 20-30 seconds. Watch carefully so you don't burn the toast! Top with butter, jam, or any other favorite topping!

Most French toast recipes will use eggs to do this. Eggs are great at it. The proteins in eggs solidify upon heating, firming up the liquids in the bread. What's more, egg adds fats for richness and they are don't 'hide' flavors.

Adding milk or plain water to scrambled eggs is an optional step that affects the texture of your finished dish. For creamy scrambled eggs, you'll add up to 1 tablespoon of milk for every egg. For fluffy scrambled eggs, you'll add up to 1 tablespoon of water for every egg.

It may have been too fresh. This is one of those recipes where stale, dry bread is better. Fresh bread will get too soggy the moment you dip it into your custard. So, give your fresh bread a few hours to a day before using it for French toast.

Half-and-half or cream will make a richer custard than whole or skim milk. You can also use non-dairy milks such as almond and coconut. Go one step further and flavor your basic milk-and-egg custard with vanilla extract, cinnamon, or cardamom; sweeten it with sugar or syrup, or even add juice or liqueur to the mix.

According to a collection of recipes from the early 5th century AD, the dish we now know as French toast existed as early as the age of the Roman Empire. In their style of French toast, called Pan Dulcis, Romans would soak bread in a milk and egg mixture, then fry it in oil or butter.

Do you use butter or oil for French toast? ›

As you cook the French toast, bits of that nutty brown-butter flavor slowly develop — much slower than they would if you cooked with just butter alone — so the the French toast has time to cook evenly without burning. A neutral oil, like canola, is the way to go since it won't disrupt the flavor of the butter.

Whisk together eggs, cream, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Place bread in a shallow baking dish large enough to hold bread slices in a single layer. Pour egg mixture over bread; soak 10 minutes. Turn slices over; soak until soaked through, about 10 minutes more.

The ideal French toast is browned and crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. It is not dry and it is not soggy.

"You know when your French toast is done when the center is set and doesn't have a runny consistency once cut," Oliveira says. If you're cooking a thinner French toast or omitted eggs from your soaking liquid, a quick pan-fry will do the trick, with 3 to 6 minutes on each side.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter, uncover the French toast and then slowly pour the melted butter over the top, trying to cover most of the bread slices. Scatter the cinnamon sugar over the bread, and then bake, uncovered, until the tips of the bread are golden brown and the bread looks puffed, about 10 minutes.

French toast goes soggy if you've used too thin, fresh, and flimsy a slice of bread. Other causes are too much milk in the custard, skim milk, and soaking the bread for too long. French toast will also be soggy if it's fried at too high a heat, searing the outside and leaving the center underdone.

The magic number is 1 and 1/2 tablespoons. This will allow for an even, thick coat of butter across your toast, melting in without making it soggy.

The top three choices of bread to use for French Toast are Brioche, French Baguette, and Challah. All of these options will yield a wonderful French Toast but we have to give the most stars to Brioche. Trust me, Brioche truly makes the best tasting French Toast.

Why add milk to eggs for French toast? French toast needs liquid to soften the bread, as well as something to 'bind' the ingredients. The milk is part of the batter or custard for soaking the bread slices--whole milk and eggs are the key ingredients for a rich custard.

You're adding too much milk or too few egg yolks: Eggs and milk are the essential components of the custard base that gives French toast its tender richness—but get their ratio off and you'll wind up with undercooked slices that have an unpleasantly savory “scrambled eggs” flavor.

What is French toast batter made of? ›

Save the Milk for Your Coffee Mug

You can stop if you are in the habit of adding milk or cream while whisking eggs—now. Milk won't make eggs creamier, fluffier, or stretch the dish out. The milk dilutes the eggs' flavor, making them rubbery, colorless, and similar to what you would find at a school cafeteria.

As Eat This, Not That explains, the fat in the milk contributes to a firmer texture, so if you want your eggs to be as fluffy as possible, plain water is the way to go.

Thus, if you are actually seeking to build a strong body and improve overall health it is best to consume cooked eggs and milk, but make sure if you want to avoid any issues with digestion and gut health, then it is suggested to keep a gap of an hour between the consumption of two types of protein.

The easiest option is to put the oven on low, and place your toast inside. Put it on a rack so that the air can circulate all around it, letting it 'breathe'. This will prevent any moisture from forming underneath it, which will make it go soggy.

Wrap the loaf tightly with aluminum foil, place it on the middle rack of a cold oven, and set the temperature to 300 degrees. After about 30 minutes (15 to 20 minutes for small or narrow loaves like baguettes), remove the foil and return the loaf to the oven for about 5 more minutes to crisp up the crust.

How to keep French Toast from getting soggy? To keep French Toast from getting soggy lightly toast the bread before soaking and don't soak the bread too long in the custard.

If you don't have vanilla coffee creamer you can substitute with another flavor of creamer, plain heavy cream, half & half or even milk, although the flavor will change slightly. Be sure to slice bread a full inch thick-if it is too thin you'll get floppy, soggy toast!

French toast is traditionally made with day-old bread because it prevents waste and because slightly stale slices absorb the custard-like mixture better than fresh ones.

The British call french toast “eggy bread," “gypsy bread" or “french-fried bread." And sometimes they serve it with ketchup.

What is the difference between French toast and eggy bread? ›

Want to know the difference between Eggy Bread and French Toast? Eggy Bread tends to be savoury and French Toast sweet. For Eggy Bread, think bacon or a fried egg as the filling, whilst French Toast tends to be berries with maple syrup or honey. You're winning either way!

One of our favorite staples is pain perdu, or “lost bread,” which is the name for French toast in France. The French name pain perdu perhaps refers to how the fresh breads in France quickly become stale – or lost.

Egg whites are known for giving French toast the eggy taste that you're experiencing. If you don't like French toast that tastes eggy, it might be best to use egg yolks instead. You see, egg whites have sulfur compounds that give French toast an eggy taste.

Butter is considered a solid fat because it is solid at room temperature and oil is considered a liquid fat because it's liquid at room temperature. Because of this, you can't rely on oil to provide any leavening help in baked goods, which can result in a denser texture.

Salted butter is great for spreading on breads, pastries and even vegetables. Gordon recommends taking a little salted butter (or making your own with unsalted butter topped with sea salt crystals) and spreading it on radishes in the spring.

Cooking French toast in a skillet or griddle can get messy, but it's worth it! Preheat a nonstick griddle to 375° on your stovetop (or heat skillet over medium heat), lightly oiling or buttering if desired.

Dry out your bread

The problem is stale bread is often bland and likely won't soak up as much custard, according to Food Hacks. You can dry out your bread by baking slices at a low heat, but make sure not to toast them too much.

Up to 24 Hours: Prepare the French toast batter and place it into an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a baking sheet with non-stick spray. Arrange the French toast slices in a single layer on the baking sheet, leaving 1/2 inch of space in between. Reheat for 6 to 8 minutes, flipping the toasts over halfway through.

How to keep French Toast from getting soggy? To keep French Toast from getting soggy lightly toast the bread before soaking and don't soak the bread too long in the custard.

How do I make my toast more crispy? ›

The easiest option is to put the oven on low, and place your toast inside. Put it on a rack so that the air can circulate all around it, letting it 'breathe'. This will prevent any moisture from forming underneath it, which will make it go soggy.

The ideal French toast is browned and crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. It is not dry and it is not soggy.

You're adding too much milk or too few egg yolks: Eggs and milk are the essential components of the custard base that gives French toast its tender richness—but get their ratio off and you'll wind up with undercooked slices that have an unpleasantly savory “scrambled eggs” flavor.

Let the slices cook for a couple minutes and then gently lift the edge of one slice with a spatula. Let the color of your French toast tell you when to flip. When mostly golden brown, flip and then cook the other side until browned.

Ideally, the bread should be slightly stale. A drier bread will soak up all the custard. Bread can be left out with the wrapper open the day before cooking. If you find yourself in a pinch, dry your bread slices in a 275°F oven for 10 minutes before soaking them in the custard.

The top three choices of bread to use for French Toast are Brioche, French Baguette, and Challah. All of these options will yield a wonderful French Toast but we have to give the most stars to Brioche. Trust me, Brioche truly makes the best tasting French Toast.

Always toast your bread. This will prevent your French toast from becoming soggy later on. Also, don't leave your slices soaking in the custard too long! Over-soaking French toast slices in your custard makes it soggy.