Thick slices of crispy French bread dipped in a sweet cinnamon sugar mixture and cooked until golden. Add your favorite toppings to make this French bread French toast the ultimate breakfast or brunch!
Table of Contents
Homemade French Toast
If you have leftover French bread laying around, this French bread french toast recipe is the perfect way to use it up. It’s a fun way to turn slightly stale, day old bread into a mouthwatering masterpiece. It gets perfectly crispy and golden on the outside, with a soft and fluffy interior. Absolute perfection!
The next time you make a classic French toast recipe, try using French bread or a French baguette instead of the classic brioche. The slices are a bit smaller and are super thick and delicious. They get perfectly crispy (never soggy!) and really soak in that flavorful cinnamon sugar egg wash coating.
I love to serve mine with some fresh berries, buttermilk syrup and a side of crispy bacon. Talk about the ultimate breakfast or brunch!
Why This Recipe Works
- Ideal for soaking: French toast bread has a thick crumb and crisp crust which is perfect for soaking in the egg mixture.
- Elegant looking: With round slices instead of square, it’s perfect for any holiday brunch where presentation is part of the fun.
- No waste: It’s the perfect way to use up day old bread from last night’s dinner.
French Bread French Toast Ingredients
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- French bread: I use my homemade day old French bread but store bought works, too, for this french toast bread.
- Milk: 2% milk or whole milk will add a more rich taste.
- Eggs: An essential part of your custard mixture that adds moisture and richness.
- Flour: All purpose flour is the best thickener to make your custardy coating.
- Brown sugar, vanilla extract and cinnamon: For that signature french toast sweet taste.
- Salt: A pinch of salt enhances the flavor of all ingredients.
- Butter: Melting butter in your skillet or griddle before adding your french toast bread will give it the best crispy edges.
How to Make French Toast Using French Bread
A few easy steps and this will be the best french toast using french bread that you will have ever had!
- Slice. Start by cutting your French bread loaf into slices that are about 1/2″ thick. You can discard the ends or store them to enjoy later on.
- Blend and dip. Next mix together the milk, flour, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and salt. I like to blend the batter ingredients together in a blender, but you can also whisk them together in a bowl until smooth. Then dip the bread slices into the egg mixture and coat evenly on both sides.
- Cook. Place the bread in a single layer on a preheated griddle or skillet and cook about 1 to 2 minutes per side. The outsides should be lightly golden and crisp.
- Serve: Then serve immediately with your favorite toppings. Butter and maple syrup is a classic, but see below for topping options to make breakfast extra special.
Cooking Tips
- Use day old bread. Slightly stale bread works best when making French toast. It will crisp up better and is less likely to get soggy. It also soaks up more of the egg mixture than fresh bread, resulting in more flavor.
- Variations. You can easily add a seasonal spin by adding some pumpkin pie spice for fall or make eggnog French toast around the holidays.
- Keeping warm. If you aren’t serving immediately, you can keep the French toast warm by placing it in the oven at 175°F on a baking sheet. It stays warm this way without drying out.
- Soaking overnight. If making overnight French toast casserole, definitely make sure the bread is a few days old. It needs to be thick and hard so that it doesn’t get soggy. Cut the bread into slices (or cubes) and soak with the egg mixture in a baking dish overnight. Then warm on a buttered skillet the next day (or bake in the oven if you cut into cubes).
Favorite Toppings
The topping options are endless when making this French toast bread. I like to stick with the classic strawberries or blueberries and syrup, but you can choose from any of the delicious topping options below:
- Berries (or fresh fruit of choice)
- Powdered sugar
- Maple syrup (or buttermilk syrup)
- Nutella
- Whipped cream
- Jam (strawberry jam is my favorite)
- Strawberry sauce
- Chocolate chips
- Caramelized bananas
- Chopped nuts
- Cinnamon butter
FAQs
The most common choices for French toast are brioche, french bread, challah, sourdough or white bread. This recipe uses French bread for french toast bread and it is now a favorite! With it’s thick round slices it soaks up the custard mixture perfectly and looks great on a plate.
Your bread my have been too fresh. Using too fresh of bread can become a soggy mess the moment you dip it in the custard. If you can’t wait a day for stale bread try to wait at least a few hours.
Ideally your French toast bread should be slightly stale. Just leave the wrapper of your bread open the day before you plan to make French toast and your bread will be perfect. If you are in a rush you can try to dry it out in the oven at 275 degrees F for 10 minutes.
For some simple breakfast sides that go well with french toast try these breakfast meatballs or for an extra hungry crowd serve with an omelette! Fresh fruit is also an excellent choice or if I am feeling fancy I make this berry fruit salad.
Storage
If you plan to eat leftovers within the next few days, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop over medium heat.
You can also freeze French toast. Cool completely then store in a freezer safe container or bag with a piece of parchment paper between slices. Store for 2-3 months. When ready to eat, thaw in the refrigerator overnight then reheat in a skillet for one to two minutes per side.
Need more breakfast inspiration? Try these easy French toast sticks or simply a thick piece of artisan bread or homemade bread with your favorite jam!
More Breakfast Recipes
Browse all
HUNGRY FOR MORE? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all the newest recipes!
French Bread French Toast
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 large eggs
- 2-3 Tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1 loaf French bread (I prefer day old)
Optional toppings: berries, fresh fruit, powdered sugar, nutella, whipped cream, jam, syrup
Instructions
- Slice the French bread 1/2" thick. Discard or save ends for later. Set aside.
- Place the milk, flour, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and salt in a blender. Pulse until smooth. Alternatively place in a bowl and whisk until smooth.
- Preheat a griddle to 350°F or a skillet over medium-high heat.
- Dip the bread into the egg mixture and flip to evenly coat. Then place the bread on the griddle and cook 1-2 minutes per side (or until lightly golden brown). Whisk the egg mixture as needed and repeat.
- Serve immediately or place on a baking sheet in the oven at 175°F to keep it warm. Top with your favorite toppings.
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: Breakfast, Kid-Friendly, Sweet Breakfast
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is also the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook. Here you will find easy family-friendly recipes for every occasion.
Game changer! This was SUPER and easy! I skeptical on the flour but see now it’s what mines been missing! This was great and now a new family fave! Made with French bread of course. Thank you 😊
This makes me so happy Jennifer! I’m so glad you and your family loved the french toast. It’s a favorite of mine as well :)
Delicious! Great recipe. Thank you, I’ll make this again.
It was very good! I used an immersion blender to mix it all up. I did not have enough batter for the whole loaf of bread but that is easily solved next time. Thank you for a keeper!
What’s the purpose of adding flour…first time i saw a French toast recipe with flour?
The flour makes it thicker and adds more texture to the outside of the bread. It is a MUST have ingredient!
This was so good!
This was amazing!! So easy to make, the flavor was delicious. I highly recommend.
Good flavor but soggy. Cooked in butter on medium 2-3 minutes.
I decided to try this and I’m glad I did. It’s very good and soft. I will keep this recipe for future. Thank you 👍👍
So glad you enjoyed the french bread french toast!
Wow these look so good. Can’t wait to make them.
I hope you enjoy! :)
Pretty delicious. Very very easy.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I made this for breakfast this morning and my kids ate it all! I only got a small piece :)
So glad your kids loved it! :)
French bread french toast is my favorite! Thanks for the easy to follow directions!
I never thought to use French bread but it is so good this way!