Oven-Baked French Toast

Thick slices of challah or brioche dipped in a cinnamon custard, arranged in a dish and baked. No country is claimed; French toast is European and very old. The difference between this and pan-fried French toast is worth being clear about, because both exist on this site. Pan-frying gives a browned, slightly crisp surface and cooks in minutes, but thick slices often stay wet in the middle. Baking cooks everything through evenly and lets you make eight or ten portions at once instead of two at a time, which is the actual reason people bake it. The trade-off is that you lose the crust. The overnight option is the one worth taking. Assembled the night before and refrigerated, the custard soaks right through the bread rather than sitting near the surface, and the result is noticeably better. It also means the dish goes straight from fridge to oven in the morning, which is presumably the point of a brunch recipe. Bread choice is not negotiable. Challah and brioche are enriched doughs, made with eggs and butter, which gives them the structure to absorb a lot of custard without collapsing. Plain sliced bread turns to mush. A separate pan-fried French toast page exists on this site and the two compete for some searches.