Milk Bread French Toast Recipe

French toast, in its simplest version, is an extremely budget-friendly meal, consisting of little more than eggs, milk, and bread. The problem with making French toast with some types of store-bought sandwich breads, though, is that the slices may be on the thin side, so when they soak up the custard mixture, the resulting dish is too soggy. The best way to remedy this is to use thicker slices of bread (or slightly stale bread). But recipe developer Eric Ngo has a specific type of bread in mind that he likes to use: shokupan, also known as milk bread. Ngo lives in France and specializes in pastry, so we tend to take his word on such matters.

As to why Ngo prefers this bread for French toast, he explains that "the texture of the Japanese milk bread is really soft, almost cloud-like ... [it] is the fluffiest, softest, most delicious bread." Fluffy bread means fluffy French toast! Not sure where to obtain shokupan? He suggests trying an Asian bakery or specialty store. If you have trouble, though, Ngo also recommends potato bread and brioche as solid breads for French toast.

In addition to the bread, you'll also need eggs, milk, sugar, and a vanilla bean pod (Ngo prefers this to extract as it provides a more intense vanilla flavor, but provides an option for vanilla extract in his recipe as well), plus a little butter to grease the frying pan so that the French toast will not stick.

Break the eggs into a shallow bowl and gently beat them until you have a homogenous mixture. Stir in the sugar and keep on whisking for a full minute so that the sugar crystals dissolve. Gradually add the milk and stir for another 30 seconds, then add the vanilla (scrape in the seeds or pour in the extract). Whisk the mixture for another 30 seconds, by which point it will be very, very well combined, indeed, and a little frothy.

Dip a slice of bread in the egg mixture for 30 seconds, then flip it and let it soak for 30 more seconds. Remove the bread — and get ready to cook it!

Melt a teaspoon of butter in a skillet over low heat, then add a slice of the custard-coated bread. Cook it for 2 minutes, then flip it over and cook it for 2 more minutes. Remove the French toast to a plate and repeat this soaking-and-cooking process with the remaining slices.

When all 3 slices are cooked, you're ready to eat them with your choice of toppings. Ngo suggests maple syrup, strawberries, and whipped cream, but he adds that "this toast can also be served as [a] savory breakfast item by adding bacon and scrambled eggs."