If you like classic French toast, you’ll love this update Brioche French toast recipe! Made with buttery, soft, enriched brioche bread, this French toast is creamy and custardy on the inside, with perfect caramelization on the outside!
This French toast with baked brioche will ensure you can serve all your slices of French toast at the same time, deliciously fresh and hot. Very simple, adaptable and customizable recipe!
How to make stale bread quickly
Stale bread is simply bread that has been aged for a few days and dried. Since brioche bread is a rich bread, it takes about 3 days for it to go stale.
But if you bought fresh bread and need it to dry, follow this simple method to stale bread faster in the oven.
Slice the bread into the thickness/size you want. Place the bread on a wire rack and place the rack on a baking sheet.
Preheat the oven to about 250 F. Some recipes use 350 F, but high heat will cause the bread to brown too quickly rather than dry it out. The toasted side of the bread won’t absorb as much custard, so I prefer to avoid toasting the bread. A Lowering the oven temperature for a slightly longer time will create a drier bread without toasting it.
Once the oven is preheated, place the baking tray (with the bread slices) in the oven. Allow the bread to bake for approximately 10 – 20 minutes OR until the bread is slightly dry. The time will depend on how thick/large the bread slices are, how fresh the bread was to begin with, and how much moisture is in the bread.
Once the bread is stale/slightly dry, remove the bread from the oven and let it cool. Warm bread will absorb the custard faster and make it too soggy.
Step 2: Prepare the egg custard
To prepare the custard you can use a whisk or an immersion blender.
With a whisk, be sure to mix the cornstarch with a little milk/cream to help it dissolve better as the first step (image 3). Next, you can add the rest of the cream, eggs, sugar, salt and other ingredients and blend until smooth and well combined. (images 4 – 6).
If using an immersion blender, place all the ingredients in a jug or tall container and blend until combined and smooth.
I like to let the custard rest for a few minutes (about 5 minutes at least), to allow all the eggs and ingredients to mix well and settle. But if you’re short on time, you can skip this one.
Step 3: Soak the bread
It is essential that the bread slices soak the egg custard mixture. Otherwise, you’ll end up with French toast with a light layer of egg and the inside is just stale bread.
To ensure that the brioche reaches a soft and rich texture in the center, the brioche slices must be immersed in the custard for a few seconds on each side. I prefer to dip each side of the slice for about 10 – 20 seconds (images 7 – 8). Depending on the thickness of the slices.
Place the soaked brioche on the grill and let it rest for 5 – 10 minutes minutes (image 9). This step allows the slice of bread to fully absorb the egg mixture throughout the slice. This also keeps the egg mixture from pooling in the pan, creating an omelette on French toast.
How long to bake bread
Bread cooking time varies depending on the thickness of the slice and the stove.
A 3/4 inch thick slice will obviously cook faster than a 1 inch thick slice. It can take approximately 2 -3 minutes PER SIDE to fully cook the bread on the stovetop, for a total of 4 – 6 minutes per slice of French toast. This is done over low heat, so that the soaked egg mixture ALSO has a chance to heat up and cook.
However, to make it convenient, I like to cook the bread for about 1 – 2 minutes per side until each side is caramelized on slightly higher heat, then let the French toast cook completely in the oven.
Tip – If you have an instant-read thermometer, insert the probe into the center of the toast slices to see if the internal temperature reaches 75°C / 165°F. This indicates that the custard is cooked.
Importance of soaking or dipping for perfect french toast
There’s a reason why stale bread and making sure the bread has had enough time to soak in the egg custard they are recommended for a perfect French toast. Both factors the result is a French toast with a soft, delicious, custard-like interior that melts in your mouth!
Some recipes simply call for dipping the bread in the egg mixture and then frying it. This method guarantees a dry interior, because the bread is plain it does not absorb the custard. So it’s just a piece of bread with a layer of egg on the outside and just stale bread in the middle. Obviously this is not French toast.
But if you take the time to soak the bread before pan-frying it and then baking the French toast, the results will be drastically different AND taste so much better! THE the custard mixture solidifies during baking, creating a soft, creamy, custard-like interior that literally melts in your mouth while you eat it!
See the difference below!
Why do we have to finish cooking French toast in the oven?
Eggs must be cooked to 165°F / 75°C before consumption. Since the bread slices are dipped in the custard, there is also the egg inside the bread slice. So the inside of the bread should also reach 165°F during baking, to fully cook the custard.
This can be done on the stove, but on each slice of bread it must be cooked over very low heat, for a long time. For a 3/4 inch slice of bread, it may take about 3 – 4 minutes per side over medium-low heat.
To make it easier, especially if I want to make French toast ahead of time for a crowd, I like to cook the slices on a slightly higher heat and caramelize the slices a little faster, about 1 – 2 minutes per side. And then let the oven cook the inside of the bread the rest of the way.
There are many ways to add flavor to your brioche French toast. This includes adding flavor to the custard base, adding flavor to the bread slices, and changing the toppings!
Any type of bread works for easy French toast, as long as the slices are thick. But for the best tasting, rich French toast, you need an enriched bread.
For this recipe you will need to use brioche to get the same results. But Challah is in second place.
Brioche bread should be slightly dry when making French toast. For this reason I recommend using stale brioches, already dried out by time and exposure.
You should only dry the bread in the oven if the brioche you use is fresh and has not had time to stale.
There is no set time for soaking bread for French toast. This will depend on how thick the brioche slices are, how stale or dry the slice is, and what your preferences are.
Personally, I soak my 3/4-inch-thick brioche bread for at least 15 seconds per side, up to 20 seconds if I want the egg custard mixture to get right to the center of the bread. If the bread is not stale enough, the soaking time may increase slightly.
So that the custard doesn’t seep into the bread (and doesn’t have a custard-like center), I only soak it for 5 – 10 seconds per side.
My advice is to test the first slice and find out how long you’ll need to let it soak without it disintegrating.
If the brioche slices are so soggy that you can’t remove them from the custard without the toast completely disintegrating or breaking, the bread has been over-soaked.
If your brioche French toast is soggy in the center after baking, it means the bread wasn’t cooked completely. Once cooked, the custard will firm up and set inside the bread. But if the custard remains raw it will look soggy and wet.
Reheat the French toast slices longer in the oven to allow them to cook through.
French toast should never cook over high heat. The highest heat setting I prefer will be medium or slightly higher. But you can cook French toast on low heat OR on slightly higher heat, depending on how many slices or how much time you have.
You can cook the French toast on low heat and let the slices cool longer to ensure that the French toast is cooked through. This will take more time; about 3 – 4 minutes per side.
I prefer to cook the French toast over medium heat to caramelize each side for 1 – 2 minutes per side. Then I finish cooking the French toast in the oven to make the baked French toast.
Absolutely!
I love making French toast and cooking it completely the day before, then keeping it in the fridge overnight. So in the morning I simply reheat the French toast in the oven and serve it.
I often also freeze the slices (individually wrapped) and reheat what I need for breakfast. So they are perfect as a meal prep recipe and to make ahead of time!
