Earl Cooks Baked French Toast a NEW Recipe

A while back I posted my baked French Recipe. My wife liked it enough to request it again. So I CHANGED it! If variety truly is the spice of life, my life is very spicy. I rarely follow the same recipe twice opting instead to tweak each recipe to make it better, hopefully. While my previous recipe was good this one is even better.


To begin with, I tossed out the baking dish, opting instead for a larger, rimmed baking sheet which I lined with aluminum foil for easy cleanup. I then placed a wire rack on the baking sheet to provide for circulation of the heat around the slices.

As I researched recipes online, many use fancier breads like Challah or artisan sourdough. That is my first departure. I ALWAYS use my wife's homemade bread and it turns out PERFECT! Chose the bread you like but homemade is best followed by any other you choose. The reason artisan or homemade bread is best is because of the pockets created as they rise. This soaks up the egg mixture AND the syrup. To soak it up, it needs to be DRY. Alton Brown recommends leaving your bread out at least 8 hours to dry out, which would be fine if you have 8 hours. I rarely have that much advance prep time so I like to put the bread on a the rack in a 200℉ oven for 20 minutes. Turn the oven off and let the bread sit in the warm oven for another 20-30 minutes and remove.

Now, the eggy goodness. In a pie plate, add your dry ingredients which are :

• Cinnamon to your liking
• a quarter teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar

Now add a teaspoon of vanilla, ¾ cup milk and six eggs. Whisk together well until there there is no defined white/yolk, just the creamy egg and spices. Soak each dried slice in the mixture for 30 seconds per side and place on the rack. This is enough for 6 slices of bread. Place tray and rack in a preheated 375℉ oven for 15 minutes. Now the finishing touch. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with with more sugar...enough to put a good amount on each slice without being thick. Now return to the oven and the oven and switch from bake to broil. KEEP at 375℉, creating a Crème brûlée kind of crunch. (If your oven has a separate broiler outside rhe oven simply flip the slices and place sugar on top). Bake for an additional 15 minutes and slather with syrup, or jam, or fruit, you will want to use a sharp knife, because this doesn't cut like your old French toast