The Best Brioche French Toast Recipe | Valerie's Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

What is one common mistake when preparing French toast? ›

If the pan isn't hot enough when you put your first slice in, the custard spreads out, forming a "foot" on the bottom of the French toast. When the pan is hot enough, the batter won't have time to seep; the custard will start cooking as soon as it hits the pan. Give the pan a light coating of neutral oil and butter.

Restaurant French toast is generally a superior product because of time. Letting it soak in the custard for up to five minutes allows more delicious dairy to be absorbed. This step is where having stale bread is essential. Using soft fresh bread will take on too much custard and become a mushy mess.

If the kneading is not done correctly and the dough is not kneaded enough or is kneaded too much, this will affect the texture of the brioche. The dough should be left to rise in a warm place, away from any draughts.

Too much butter will result in a very soft, sticky dough that's difficult to shape, and bakes up greasy and dense.

Ideally, the bread should be slightly stale. A drier bread will soak up all the custard. Bread can be left out with the wrapper open the day before cooking. If you find yourself in a pinch, dry your bread slices in a 275°F oven for 10 minutes before soaking them in the custard.

1. Not choosing the right bread. The heart and soul of French toast really is the bread — use something sub-par and the final result is going to be sub-par. The best bread is spongy and sturdy so that it will be able to soak up the custard without completely falling apart.

Whatever you decide on, the ratio of liquid to egg will still be about ¼ cup liquid to one egg, and one egg per two slices of bread. So, if you want to make four slices of French toast, you would need four slices of bread, two eggs, and ½ cup milk. How's that for an easy recipe?

Ideally it's best if you can soak the bread in the french toast batter overnight however, if this cannot be done I suggest leaving it soak for a minimum of 30 minutes to 1 hour. As we want that custard like middle, cut very thick slices of bread.

We use whole milk because the higher fat content makes the French toast nice and creamy, but you can substitute heavy cream, almond milk, or even coconut milk. The flavors will change a little, but the end result will still be delicious!

The first is using fresh bread, which soaks up too much of the egg mixture and doesn't cook through, remaining eggy and soggy in the middle. Leaving the bread in the egg mixture for too long is another route to soggy French toast.

Is milk or half and half better for French toast? ›

Custard. Eggs and milk are whipped together into a smooth mixture to dip the bread in before you fry it on both sides to a golden brown. Half-and-half or cream will make a richer custard than whole or skim milk. You can also use non-dairy milks such as almond and coconut.

If you are watching your weight and health then you should know that French toast contains quite a high amount of saturated fat. This could be attributed to the eggs and milk that are among the ingredients of French toast. Saturated fat is one of the types of fats that you should avoid on a regular basis.

Especially in the US, raw eggs can carry salmonella. So to reduce the risk of getting salmonella from French toast, just make sure that each piece is cooked thoroughly so that the egg in it is no longer raw before you eat it.

Nail the Egg-to-Milk Ratio

Eggs and milk are the essential components of the custard base that gives French toast its tender richness—but get their ratio off and you'll wind up with undercooked slices that have an unpleasantly savory "scrambled eggs" flavor.