More of our favorite breakfasts: Take a look at our recipe for making The Best Fluffy Pancakes or these Perfectly Crispy Waffles. Before baking the final 10 minutes, we pour melted butter over the top of the bread and sprinkle cinnamon sugar all over, adding a buttery, crisp topping. We bake covered for 30 minutes, uncover the dish, and bake another 10 minutes or until the bread looks puffed and golden brown on top. This should happen within half an hour, but if you are making the French toast ahead of time, you can cover and refrigerate the dish overnight! For the best French toast, you want to give the bread a chance to absorb as much custard as possible. Set aside for at least 30 minutes or leave it overnight.Then we pour the rest of the custard on top. I like lining the bread up so that they look like roof shingles. Add dipped bread to a baking dish and pour over the custard.That’s why before pouring all the custard over the bread, we quickly dip each slice into it first. That worked, but not all the bread was covered by the custard. When we first made this recipe, we would pour the custard over bread slices lined up in a baking dish. To flavor the egg mixture, we add maple syrup (I like using pure maple syrup), vanilla extract, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and salt. Of course, milk will do, if you don’t have cream, but keep in mind that the mixture will lose a little of that lovely richness. To make this extra flavorful, rich, and a little creamy in the middle, we use quite a few eggs, milk, and cream. (Really fresh bread will turn to mush on you.) This ensures that the bread absorbs all the liquid and flavors of the French toast but that it doesn’t turn mushy. Dry out the bread. For the best baked French toast, it’s important that you use either day-old bread or that you quickly dry out the bread in the oven before mixing it with the other ingredients.The recipe is straightforward and perfect for making ahead of time, which, if you are making this to entertain, like, say for Thanksgiving morning or brunch, is perfect! Here’s the basic process: We use quality bread, eggs, a combination of milk and cream for richness, maple syrup and vanilla extract for sweetness, and warm baking spices to make it extra delicious.

Homemade french toast