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Easy Basic French Toast

November 7, 2008 by Nicole 37 Comments

Easy Basic French Toast Recipe | pinchmysalt.com

Do you really need a recipe for French toast? I’m not sure. But this is one of my favorite things to eat for breakfast and I just want to make sure that everyone knows how easy it is to make French toast at home in a skillet or on a griddle.

The best thing about French toast is that most households have all the necessary ingredients on hand at any given time: bread, eggs, and milk. Really, that’s all you need!

Of course you can fancy things up by throwing in dashes of cinnamon and/or nutmeg. You can vary the richness by switching between skim milk, whole milk, or even half-and-half. And don’t even get me started on all the different types of bread you can use. The possibilities are endless.

Easy Basic French Toast Recipe | pinchmysalt.com

As a kid, we regularly ate whole wheat French toast for breakfast. On special occasions, it would be sourdough. But what I really loved was the diner-style French toast made with thick-sliced white bread.

We never ate white bread at home, so when we would go out for breakfast, it was always so hard for me to decide between that white fluffy French toast and a short stack of blueberry pancakes. The French toast usually won out then and it still does to this day.

Easy Basic French Toast Recipe | pinchmysalt.com

Now that I’m an adult, I can choose whatever bread I want for my morning French toast, and sometimes I do buy that thick-sliced Texas Toast style sandwich bread just for French toast. But right now my favorite French toast is made with stale sourdough bread.

Sometimes I use homemade bread and sometimes, like today, it’s made with a crusty levain from a favorite local bakery.

Easy Basic French Toast Recipe | pinchmysalt.com

Whichever bread you choose, French toast is best made with bread that’s stale. Unfortunately, with all the preservatives they put in grocery store sandwich breads, most of those don’t really ever stale.

But if you leave it out unwrapped overnight, that usually does the trick. Or you can just dry it out in a low oven for a few minutes. But in a pinch, you can use fresh store-bought bread and I think it works just fine.

The formula is simple. For each hungry person you plan on feeding, use one egg plus 1/4 cup milk. That will be enough for about three big slices of bread. You will need a shallow bowl or dish that’s wide enough to fit one slice of bread and deep enough to hold your liquid.  A square baking dish usually works quite well if you don’t have a bowl that will work.

Easy Basic French Toast Recipe | pinchmysalt.com

You can beat the eggs and milk right in the dish, using a fork. At least that’s what I usually do!

Easy Basic French Toast Recipe | pinchmysalt.com

Easy Basic French Toast Recipe | pinchmysalt.com

Now you need to set up your french toast making station. Sliced bread on one side, egg mixture in the middle, and a hot pan or griddle on the other side.  Start heating your pan over medium heat as you get everything organized.

It’s also helpful to turn the oven on warm and keep a plate in there to keep the French toast warm if you don’t have people waiting to gobble it up immediately.

Easy Basic French Toast Recipe | pinchmysalt.com

Now just soak a couple slices of bread in the egg mixture, making sure to flip them so each side of each slice gets wet. I don’t like my French toast soggy in the middle so I don’t let them soak too long, but it’s completely up to you how long you want to soak it.

When the bread is ready to hit the skillet, drop a small pat of butter in the pan, swirl it around, and then add your slices of French toast.  Flip the toast when it’s browned to your liking.

Easy Basic French Toast Recipe | pinchmysalt.com

See, wasn’t that easy?  Perhaps I’m preaching to the choir here, but I think a big breakfast of French toast is one of the simplest, most satisfying breakfasts around.

I love mine with lots of melted butter and powdered sugar, or sometimes maple syrup. And of course it doesn’t hurt to add a side of bacon or sausage. I hope you’ll enjoy this easy skillet French toast recipe!

Nutrition

Calories

144 cal

Fat

2 g

Carbs

23 g

Protein

7 g
Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info
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Yields three servings

Basic French Toast Recipe
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Ingredients

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

6 slices of bread, preferably slightly stale

1/4 tsp vanilla extract (optional)*

dash or cinnamon (optional)

Instructions

1. In a wide, shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk.

2. Dip bread slices in egg mixture, one at a time, making sure to soak each side. Hold bread slice above bowl to allow the excess egg mixture to drain off and then place in the hot, buttered skillet. Repeat with as many slices as will fit in the pan at a time.

3. Cook the french bread over medium heat and flip the slices when they are browned to your liking. When both sides are browned, remove to a plate in a warm oven, or serve immediately.

Notes

To make French toast for a crowd, add 1/4 cup of milk for each additional egg. To serve one person, you can use just one egg and 1/4 cup of milk.

*I sometimes add a splash of vanilla and a dash of cinnamon or nutmeg to the egg mixture, depending on which type of bread I'm using. If I use sourdough bread, I don't add anything extra. But the vanilla and cinnamon go really well with other types of white or wheat breads.

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For those of you just tuning in this month, I’m happy to say that I’m participating in the National Blog Posting Month challenge. For this year’s edition of NaBloPoMo, I’ve pledged to post a new recipe every single day for the month of November. If you don’t want to miss a recipe, sign up to receive my recipes by e-mail. You’ll only receive an e-mail when I write a new blog post, and your e-mail address will not be used for any other purpose. Interested? Sign up now!

Easy French Toast Recipe | pinchmysalt.com

Filed Under: Breads, Breakfast/Brunch, Main Courses Tagged With: breakfast, french toast, NaBloPoMo, recipe, sourdough

Previous Post: « Sweet Potato Biscuits with Bacon and Thyme Recipe
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Peter says

    November 7, 2008 at 2:05 pm

    Nicole, I think you should do NAPABLOMO or whatever it's called all year 'round. You get in a cooking groove and it shows immediately. I'm inviting myself over for brekkie...I'll even do dishes (Shock)!
    Reply
  2. Kathy says

    November 7, 2008 at 2:25 pm

    Okay, you are definitely in charge of breakfast for Thanksgiving ! That looks so good. I'd go for some sausage to go with it. Nice photos too...
    Reply
  3. Alice Q. Foodie says

    November 7, 2008 at 2:29 pm

    Good thinking Nicole! A great breakfast and a blog post in one fell swoop ;-) I've never tried making French Toast with levain, and that's what I always buy from B&C, so I wlil definitely have to give this a shot!
    Reply
  4. Leaca says

    November 7, 2008 at 2:34 pm

    Those look yummy. This is a family favorite so I reserve them for special occasions. My kids love it.
    Reply
  5. Mrs. L says

    November 7, 2008 at 2:48 pm

    I've never made French Toast and it's been at least 30 years since my mom made it for me for breakfast. So yes, a recipe to get me to make it at home works for me!
    Reply
  6. Nick says

    November 7, 2008 at 3:38 pm

    Your cast iron skillet looks pretty weathered Nicole - AS IT SHOULD BE. I hate it when I go over to a dinner party and someone is cooking something in a pristine cast iron skillet. I want to scream FRAUD, but then I always remember that all cast iron skillets were pristine at one point - just can't remember a time when mine was. Hope you had a mimosa or four to go along with these...
    Reply
  7. Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) says

    November 7, 2008 at 3:49 pm

    This is one of my favorite things to eat for dinner too, which is what I'm going to do right now! Forget the vegetable soup sitting in the fridge. Now I have a serious craving for French toast.
    Reply
  8. pam says

    November 7, 2008 at 8:07 pm

    I also don't like my french toast soggy, so I give it a quick soak. And I agree, it's better with country style bread. Well...I pretty much agree with everything in this post! Bring on the french toast!
    Reply
  9. erin says

    November 7, 2008 at 10:03 pm

    I add a dash of vanilla to the egg/milk mixture and it goes over really well! I love french toast...yum!
    Reply
  10. Laura says

    November 7, 2008 at 10:12 pm

    Yum! My favorite french toast is made with the day-old remains of a homemade loaf of cinnamon swirl bread...as long as there *are* any day-old remains!
    Reply
  11. J.R. says

    January 25, 2009 at 2:00 pm

    I found this recipe via a google search this morning and it's exactly what I needed: A "number of items per person" recipe. :) My girlfriend and I had wonderful French Toast thanks to your recipe, so, thanks! (I added a sprinkle of cinnamon and a sprinkle of nutmeg to mine. Like Erin above, I normally add a dash of vanilla, but we couldn't find ours this morning.)
    Reply
  12. Grandma Del says

    February 20, 2009 at 12:15 am

    Here in New York we use thick slices of Challah. If you do not know what that is, I'll describe it; it's a braided loaf made with eggs and yeast. It's a 'medium' light dough, not as heavy as a sourdough. But there's nothing wrong with a French or Italian loaf, either! With the exception of plain, thin-sliced grocery plain white bread, most any bread cut reasonably thick will be delicious with all the 'good stuff' it soaks in. :-)
    Reply
  13. Matt says

    March 8, 2009 at 8:47 am

    Good post. I also found via Google. When I was young I used to have French toast at cub scout camp - it was called "Eggy bread" there, and it was only when I was in my thirties that I found out that Eggy bread and French toast are the same thing!
    Reply
  14. Kaitlyn says

    March 14, 2009 at 11:51 am

    this recipe was perfect, and hit the spot!
    Reply
  15. Gary Thison says

    July 23, 2009 at 6:27 am

    My daughter just returned from a visit to her brother's place in Chicago. She said they made the best french toast she's ever ::sniff:: had. I know it involved a little cinnamon, but I'm going to check on the other ingredients and I'll let you know. If you want to read my recent article about food additives (I'm a comedian, so don't expect science), go to http://www.examiner.com/x-3080-Detroit-Entertainment-News-Examiner~y2009m7d22-Looking-for-fun-Read-the-labels-on-what-you-eat The research conducted for this article consisted of a candy bar and a dictionary. :)
    Reply
  16. lori says

    September 19, 2009 at 9:39 am

    Hi! I really like your site. I tried making french toast with whole wheat bread - the kind with the nuts in it. It was very yummy!
    Reply
  17. notyet100 says

    April 3, 2010 at 5:32 am

    yummy pictorial thnks
    Reply
  18. Sandora says

    October 17, 2010 at 8:37 am

    Umm.. love them. I tried to make this recipe in spanish too ;)
    Reply
  19. Silvia says

    August 1, 2011 at 5:00 am

    Here in Brazil we sometimes use coconut milk instead and it tastes amazing!
    Reply
  20. shellie joseph says

    August 18, 2012 at 4:08 pm

    I think this is a great website full of interesting things to make. I love french toast and making the perfect french toast has always been a challenge but using the steps in this website it was easy and fun!
    Reply
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