Baked Apple French Toast

Stale bread is the requirement, not the compromise. Fresh sandwich bread collapses into mush the moment it meets custard, while bread that has dried out for a day or two absorbs the egg and milk and still holds its shape through baking. A loaf on the day-old rack costs a fraction of a fresh one and works better.

Baking the whole thing in a dish also removes the part of French toast that keeps people from making it on a weekday, which is standing at the stove flipping slices one at a time. Everything goes into the pan, the oven does the work, and four people eat at once.

The custard ratio is the thing to remember if the recipe itself is ever forgotten. One egg to a quarter cup of milk, scaled to however much bread needs using. Anything richer sets like a quiche, and anything thinner leaves the middle of the pan wet.

Baked Apple French Toast

Day-old bread and sliced apples soaked in a cinnamon custard and baked until the center sets and the top goes golden — a pan of French toast for four made from bread nobody wanted.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

  

• 6 slices day-old bread
• 1 apple cored and thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon butter for greasing
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 pinch salt

Instructions

 

• Grease an 8-inch square baking dish with the butter and heat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Shingle the bread slices in the dish at an angle, overlapping them, and tuck the apple slices between and under the bread so the fruit is spread through the pan.
• Whisk the eggs, milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and salt together until no streaks of egg remain.
• Pour the custard evenly over the bread. Press the slices down with the back of a spoon so every piece is wet.
• Let the dish sit for 20 minutes at room temperature. This step decides the texture, and skipping it leaves dry bread in the middle of the pan.
• Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is golden, the apples are tender, and the custard in the center is set rather than liquid when a knife is slipped in.
• Rest for 5 minutes before cutting. The center firms up as it cools.
• Serve with a little maple syrup or a dusting of powdered sugar.

Notes

Do not buy special bread for this. Slightly stale sandwich bread, leftover dinner rolls, hot dog buns or the heels of a bakery loaf all work, and they can be mixed in the same pan.

If the only bread on hand is fresh, tear it into pieces and dry it in a 300 degree F oven for 10 minutes before assembling.

Assemble it the night before, cover, and refrigerate. It bakes straight from cold, with an extra 5 to 10 minutes added.

Firm apples hold their shape better over 35 minutes. Softer ones cook down into something closer to applesauce between the slices, which is also good.

A pear, a handful of frozen berries, or a sliced banana can stand in for the apple without any other change.

Leftovers reheat well in a skillet with a little butter, which re-crisps the edges better than a microwave.

Keyword Autumn, baked, baked french toast, make-ahead breakfast