I have fond memories of my dad's creamy, custardy French toast, which he would soak thoroughly in an egg custard and bake in the oven instead of on a griddle. This recipe uses his baked French toast recipe method, but gives it a few minutes on the griddle to get an irresistibly crisp exterior. It's partly inspired by a recent episode about French toast on Alton Brown's show, Good Eats.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 6 minutes
Total Time: 16 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3 eggs
- Pinch salt
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 12 slices French bread, very stale, 1-inch slices
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Preparation:
- Preheat electric griddle to high, and preheat oven to 375˚F. In a bowl, combine milk, eggs, salt, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine until mixture is smooth. Transfer mixture to a pie or cake pan.
- Place an ovenproof (metal) baking rack on a sheet pan. Dip two pieces of French bread into the milk mixture, let soak 30 seconds, turn over, and soak for 30 seconds more. Transfer bread to the baking rack and let sit for 1 minute. Spray griddle with nonstick cooking spray and transfer soaked bread to griddle, cook for 2 minutes on each side, until golden brown. While bread is grilling, soak the next two pieces. As toast on griddle is done, return to the baking rack. Continue soaking and grilling until all the pieces are griddled. Sprinkle toast evenly with cinnamon.
- Place rack with toast in the oven and cook at 375˚F for 5 minutes, or until the center of the French toast is set. Serve warm.
This recipe for Custardy Baked French Toast serves 4.
