Best French Toast Recipe – Baker by Nature

You don’t have to travel to France to enjoy perfect French toast! This recipe begins with soaking thick sliced stale bread in a delicious custard egg mixture and frying it golden brown. We love this classic French toast recipe warm and drenched in maple syrup… and dusted with powdered sugar!

The Perfect French Toast?

AM says: “ “I’ve made this recipe several times already and always get rave reviews from my family. I usually use sliced brioche. I highly recommend giving this recipe a try. It’s so good!”

This is my perfect French toast recipe! This easy breakfast recipe is a weekend menu staple in our house… I’ve probably made it 500 times at this point. My kids go crazy over this easy French toast recipe (and so does my husband). So I always have a loaf of stale bread in the fridge or freezer so I can whip this up whenever the craving strikes.

Why Use Stale Bread for Golden Brown Color?

• It may sound odd, but stale bread, or day old bread, works best for French toast.
• You want dry bread so that when you soak the bread in the egg mixture, the bread slices won’t break apart.
• Stale bread will be able to soak up all that yummy egg mixture. Which is what will add those classic yummy flavors like nutmeg, vanilla, and cinnamon.
• Finally, dry bread is more likely to fry up crispy and golden brown! So grab your loaf of bread for french toast a few days before you plan on making it.

Ingredients for Classic French Toast Batter

• Eggs: You’ll use whole eggs and egg yolks. Yolks create a rich custard without making it taste overly eggy. Save leftover egg whites, you can use them in cakes, omelets, and more!
• Milk: I suggest using whole milk aka full-fat milk. If you’re looking to make this dairy-free, coconut milk will work.
• Heavy Cream: Do not sub milk or half and half for this ingredient. If you’re looking to make this french toast recipe dairy-free, coconut cream will work.
• Vanilla extract: Never use imitation vanilla, but feel free to use an infused vanilla like bourbon vanilla!
• Sugar: For sweetness and depth of flavor, you’ll use both granulated sugar and brown sugar. You can use all granulated sugar in a pinch. I don’t suggest using all brown sugar, it’ll add too much moisture to the recipe.
• Butter: In this case, salted or unsalted butter will work fine. A touch of salt won’t ruin the recipe. But I don’t suggest adding more salt, as you don’t want a ton of added sodium or salty flavor to this recipe.
• Bread: Brioche bread, sour dough bread, or challah will are all good options. Just don’t use basic white sandwich bread, which won’t yield great results. You can read the section “best breads for french toast” for more on this.

Feel free to add pinch of salt and ground cinnamon if desired. I suggest a 1/4 teaspoon of both.

Bonus points if you have fresh fruit, berries, and quality maple syrup! Proteins like sausage, eggs, or bacon on the side are also always a good idea!

Easy French Toast Recipe: Cook the French Toast

Full recipe is at the bottom of this post! But here’s a breakdown of how to do it:

1. Pan Prep: Melt butter and oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Don’t turn the heat above medium heat or the butter will burn. While the pan heats, make your french toast batter.
2. Egg Mixture: In a large bowl, whisk up your egg mixture! Dip bread in egg mixture and soak the bread for a few seconds on each side. You can use a large shallow dish or large baking sheet.
3. Fry the Bread: Place the thick sliced bread in the prepare pan and fry until golden brown. This usually takes about 3 minutes per side.
4. Serve French Toast Warm: With maple syrup and/or whipped cream! Read my tips for keeping the french toast warm in the section “keep warm on a baking sheet” below.

If you’d like this recipe to be more like pain perdu, you can place a wire rack on top of a baking sheet. Preheat oven to 350 and bake the French toast in a single layer, on top of the rack. and bake for about 5 minutes. This will make it extra extra crispy!

Best Breads for French Toast?

• Brioche, challah, and sour dough work best for this recipe! But french bread is also a great candidate!
• Day old bread always works best because it’s just slightly stale, which helps the bread absorb more of the delicious egg mixture.
• Thick sliced bread works best, because thin slices will break when you soak the bread. And might burn when frying.
• Don’t use basic white sandwich bread, it’s too thin and won’t do this recipe justice!

Keep Warm on a Baking Sheet in a Single Layer

My secret for keeping french toast warm? Preheat the oven to lowest setting and place a large baking sheet inside the oven. Transfer slices of French toast onto the baking sheet, placing them in a single layer. Use a potholder when removing the pan from the oven – it will be hot!

Place the french toast on shallow dishes or serve straight from the baking dish!

Maple Syrup vs Whipped Cream

• If you’re on team maple syrup, I suggest warming your maple syrup up for a few minutes. Do this on the stovetop or in the microwave.
• Want bourbon maple syrup? Add 2 teaspoons of bourbon per 1 cup of maple syrup. Mix it into the warm maple syrup after heating it.
• Enhance the maple syrup by adding vanilla and ground cinnamon. I like adding a Tablespoon of vanilla and a 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon per cup of maple syrup.
• Or feel free to use fresh whipped cream or store-bought. But fresh whipped cream is SO easy I encourage you to try it!
• To make fresh whipped cream, whisk 1 cup of heavy cream and 2 Tablespoons of confectioners’ sugar together. An electric mixer will work best for this!