Bake French Toast In The Oven For A New Take On The Standard

Take a hands-off approach to your next French toast-making attempts by placing bread into the oven. Instead of having to stand over the stovetop or eyeball pieces cooking on a griddle, stacking eggy slices of toast into a casserole dish is your next brunch hack. Thanks to Tasting Table recipe developer Michelle McGlinn, we're packing pieces of bread into the oven and crawling back to bed. Perfectly cooked pieces of baked French toast can be crowned with seasonal fruits, dollops of honey whipped cream, and ample slathers of maple syrup for a meal that feels like a holiday. 

Instead of dipping each piece of bread into a shallow dish of custard, you'll layer sliced pieces of bread into an oven-friendly dish before pouring a mixture of whipped eggs, milk, cream, vanilla, and spices directly on top of the stack. Ideally, you will have planned your meal in advance so the bread has time to bathe in this creamy, eggy dressing overnight, but if morning cravings hit unexpectedly, one hour will suffice, and you'll be well on your way to digging into restaurant-quality French toast at home.

Reach for thicker pieces of dense, spongy bread like challah and brioche to make this baked recipe. The egg mixture will soak into the slices, yielding a more flavorful outcome. Once your batter-drenched bread is ready for the oven, you'll cover the dish for its initial bake, around 40 minutes, then finish the French toast with an additional 15 to 20 minutes exposed. The top of the bread will turn gold, and the eggy custard will set firmly inside the dish. Your home will smell incredible. 

Once the dish of baked bread has cooled, garnish plated pieces with the flavors and ingredients of your choosing. Mascarpone and blackberries, pecans and peaches, Nutella and chocolate shavings all rest comfortably on top of these pretty pieces of toast. You can also give the baked recipe a savory spin with sprinkles of cheese, roasted peppers, and dried herbs to serve French toast for dinner. There's no need to wait for this weekend's brunch to enjoy such a beauty of a meal.