Baked French Toast (easy overnight recipe) - Celebrating Sweets (2024)

FAQs

Should French toast be soaked overnight? ›

French toast will always signify a slow Sunday's morning where an indulgent breakfast is calling to be enjoyed. The way to achieve this is to make your egg mixture the night before and leave the bread slices to soak up the batter overnight. I place them snugly into a shallow dish and pour the mixture all over.

If the pan isn't hot enough when you put your first slice in, the custard spreads out, forming a "foot" on the bottom of the French toast. When the pan is hot enough, the batter won't have time to seep; the custard will start cooking as soon as it hits the pan. Give the pan a light coating of neutral oil and butter.

Rather than leave the slices flat on a countertop or work space, though, consider propping the slices up at an angle to prevent the steam from softening your freshly toasted bread. Proper air circulation around the bread will allow it to stay crisp and dry.

Soak the French toast: Place four slices of bread into the custard to soak for one minute. Flip the slices and soak another minute.

Look for bread that is labeled “hearty,” “thick-cut,” or “Texas toast.” Thin slices are more likely to collapse when soaked. You can also opt for a pullman loaf and slice the bread yourself to your desired thickness. Sliced wheat bread also makes good French toast, but might require a little extra soaking time.

Oven-drying of cut slices — super-lightly toasting it — works best of all, but in a pinch, you could also cut the bread the night before and let it sit on a cooling rack until morning, or simply lightly toast in the toaster. The key is to dry the outside while leaving the inside moist.

A creamy custard is the key to incredible French toast, so skip the watery skim milk and go for whole milk or half-and-half. Straight heavy cream turns French toast into dessert, so lean that way if you're looking for decadence.

Why Does French Toast Taste Too Eggy? To create the classic custard taste that makes French toast great, the ratio of eggs to milk is important. If the balance is off and you include too many eggs or not enough milk, the finished French toast will have a scrambled egg-like flavor.

We use whole milk because the higher fat content makes the French toast nice and creamy, but you can substitute heavy cream, almond milk, or even coconut milk. The flavors will change a little, but the end result will still be delicious!

For French toast, the amount of ingredients can make all the difference in the finished product. Too much, says Bon Appetit, could turn your bread into a soggy mess. The same could happen if you measure out a bit too much dairy.

How to tell when French toast is done? ›

This allows you to sear the French toast without burning it, while ensuring it's fully cooked in the center. "You know when your French toast is done when the center is set and doesn't have a runny consistency once cut," Oliveira says.

The first is using fresh bread, which soaks up too much of the egg mixture and doesn't cook through, remaining eggy and soggy in the middle. Leaving the bread in the egg mixture for too long is another route to soggy French toast.

Keeping bread in an airtight environment will slow down the rate it becomes stale, so tightly encasing a baguette in aluminum foil will keep out moisture and help it last longer. It's important to make sure there aren't any holes or other ways for air to enter the protective layer.

Toast one side of your bread for a minute or two, then start building your sandwich so the toasted sides are facing each other. This one-sided toasting trick works twofold — it will keep your sandwich from getting soggy, while also protect your mouth from getting roughed up from the dry, crusty bread.