Sourdough Gone Stale? Turn It Into French Toast

Sourdough bread is great to have around — whether it's for a simple breakfast of buttered toast or for sandwiches, it's inarguably a delicious bread choice. Sourdough is so tasty that if you somehow don't finish a whole loaf before it goes stale, it's incredibly disappointing — especially if you put in the work to make fresh-baked sourdough bread from scratch. Luckily, there's a way to save that stale sourdough bread: Turn it into French toast.

Bread that is a bit stale actually works quite well for French toast because the harder texture soaks up the custard better than softer bread. Plus, sourdough, specifically, is a great choice for French toast because the tanginess that it's known for brings a depth of flavor to the dish and balances out the sweetness of the custard. After all, the custard brings in a dessert element, thanks to the use of vanilla extract, cinnamon, and sometimes even pure white sugar.

If you need a recipe for the custard part of your sourdough French toast, you can look to Tasting Table's recipe for either milk bread French toast for a super sweet (white sugar included) version or our French toast waffles for a milder (but still sweet) version. Either way, the result will be a delicious breakfast with just the right amount of tang.

You can choose to serve the sourdough French toast with maple syrup and butter and it will be utterly delicious — but you can also get creative with toppings. Further, toppings are a great way to determine the ratio of sweet to tangy to fit your exact preferences. Let's say you're not in a sweet mood and want to up the ante on the tanginess, then you can top the French toast with a spread of lemon curd or a helping of crème fraîche. With either of these options, there's always the option to add a drizzle of maple syrup or a dollop of whipped cream so that the tanginess isn't overpowering (unless that's what you're going for).

On the other hand, maybe you want to opt for sweet toppings to keep the tanginess confined to the bread of choice — in this case, the options are basically endless. For one, you can go for some sweet fresh fruit, such as peaches or strawberries. Or, for an even sweeter fruity option, top the French toast with strawberry compote. There's also always the option for the addition of hot fudge sauce or caramel sauce, topped with whipped cream.