Dishfunctional Designs: Baguette French Toast

If you are a fan of French Toast then you will absolutely love this version—especially if you are a bread lover like me. A good baguette is best when eaten fresh. Don't eat it fast enough and you will soon find that your tasty French loaf has started to turn stale and become hard. That is the perfect time to turn it into some amazing French toast. Golden, crispy, and buttery on the outside and soft and delicious on the inside, this French Toast is like no other.

This recipe is super-easy, even if you have never made French toast before. All you need is a day-old loaf of French baguette bread, and egg or two, milk, and some incidentals that you probably already have in your kitchen cabinet.

Here is what you will need:

Loaf of French Baguette bread
1-2 eggs
3/4 to 1 & 1/2 cups milk

Cinnamon

Salt

Sugar

Butter

Powdered confectioner's sugar for garnish

Maple syrup for serving

Use a sharp bread knife to cut the baguette into slices. I aim for slices that are about 1/2" wide and no larger than about 3/4" wide. Cut all the slices and set aside.

Prepare the batter by whisking an egg in a medium sized bowl. Add 3/4 cup of milk to the egg and whisk together until completely blended. This amount of egg and milk is enough for two people, or a half loaf of baguette.

If you are serving three or more, or if you are very hungry or making an entire loaf of baguette or more, then use two eggs instead of one and use 1 & 1/4 cup of milk plus a little more if needed.

If you add too little milk to your mixture it will become too eggy and when you cook it it will be like scrambled eggs cooked into your toast. If you add too much milk, your mixture will become too milky and your end result will be soggy, so you have to get the balance just right. Start with less milk and then add a bit more a little at a time as needed. In general it should be more of a milky consistency than an eggy consistency.

Once your eggs and milk are combined, add a pinch of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, and a generous teaspoon of cinnamon. Mix until completely combined.

Heat a medium to large sized fry pan on medium-low heat and then coat with about 1 teaspoon of butter. Right when the butter is about to brown, dunk a few slices of the baguette into the egg and milk mixture, turning them over to completely coat them on all sides and to allow them to soak up the liquid as shown in the above photo.

Hold each piece above the bowl for a moment to allow excess liquid to drip from the bread and then carefully place the slices onto the hot fry pan. Do this with a few more pieces until your fry pan is full, but leave enough room in the pan so that you can turn them.

Keep a close eye on the slices and turn down the heat just a tad so that they do not burn on the outside. Fry the slices for a few minutes, checking the bottoms every so often. You want the outsides to be golden brown and you want the insides to be completely cooked.

Once the bottoms start to brown, carefully flip each slice over and cook the other side for a few minutes until golden brown and cooked throughout.

Add more butter if needed. I usually add a bit more butter right at the time when I am flipping them over so that the pan stays coated.

These slices are perfectly done!

Once the slices turn golden, remove from pan onto plate and serve. Add a sprinkle of powered confectioner's sugar if you like, or serve with maple syrup.

French Toast is great served with fresh fruit and either bacon or sausage on the side. This is never just for breakfast at our house—we enjoy it for dinner too!