french toast.

French Toast

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. No, that’s a lie. It is not. Brunch is my favorite meal of the day. I don’t eat breakfast (I know, I know, don’t come at me health and fitness gurus…I’m not hungry in the morning, I never have been, and I’m not forcing myself to eat when I’m not feeling it because it just makes me feel sick. Simmer down). But I do love breakfast food.

French toast, in fact, is my favorite breakfast item, but I find it difficult to find anyone who makes a really decadent French toast. Truth be told, I have never eaten French toast in a restaurant that I find nearly as good as the French toast I make at home – and that’s because there’s a trick to French toast. It’s called simplicity, and I learned from my late grandmother. Don’t add additional ingredients. Stick to the basics. But the real trick? It’s all in the bread.

If you know me, you know there is nothing I dislike (and will never, ever purchase) more so than bread from the bread aisle. If it’s not from the bakery or homemade, I’ll not be purchasing, serving, or consuming it. But the trick to the most decadent and flavorful French toast is really the bread – it must be made with a loaf of French Sourdough bread that’s at least one day old (never the same day it is baked). The trick is to take it out of the bakery wrapping and wrap the loaf in aluminum foil, put it in the pantry overnight, and cook with it the following day.

I don’t make many things well (cooking. I’m a master when it comes to baking), but my French toast is – I say this with absolute confidence – the best you’ll ever try.

Ingredients

1 loaf of day-old French sourdough bread from the bakery (Publix is where I buy mine)

2% milk

Eggs

Vanilla extract

A griddle – for the love of all things holy, please do not make your French toast on the stove in a pan. The flavor is inconsistent.

Butter, syrup, powdered sugar, strawberries, blueberries for toppings (whipped cream is optional)

To Begin

Start by cutting your French sourdough bread into 1.5-inch-thick slices. No less, and no more. In a large bowl, pour milk, 3 eggs, and your vanilla, and whisk. I don’t measure. Just pour with love. The bowl should be almost half full of milk and the vanilla should be poured with abundant love – now is not the time to pour lightly. More vanilla = more flavor.

Preheat your griddle to 350 degrees. Do NOT spray the griddle with anything other than plain, boring, regular Pam spray – and spray lightly. I cannot stress this enough. Too much alters the flavor.

Next, dip your bread once piece at time into your milk, egg, vanilla mixture, and thoroughly coat each side before placing the bread on the griddle. Now, there is no set cooking time. I have two griddles – one for home and one we take when we rent an AirBnB home in the mountains every winter – and my travel griddle does not heat the same way my home griddle heats despite being the same. So, just use your judgement. The bottom of your bread should be slightly browned and the egg and milk mixture cooked onto the bread. Flip and repeat.

Serving

Plating your French toast is the most fun aspect of serving it. But this is where things become a little personal. Not everyone prefers every topping. I, for example, do not care for whipped cream on mine. But I do love to slice strawberries and serve my French toast with a touch of butter on each piece of bread, light maple syrup, a sprinkle of powdered sugar, and strawberries and blueberries on the side. My husband prefers his fruit on top of his French toast.

You do whatever makes you happy, but do follow the recipe. It’s the best French toast you’ll ever have. My family adores it, and they can never get enough!