Food & Cooking Recipes Breakfast & Brunch Recipes Bread Recipes Classic French Toast 4.0 (488) 18 Reviews Make any breakfast or brunch special with our best French toast recipe. By Martha Stewart Martha Stewart Martha Stewart is a bestselling author, entrepreneur, and lifestyle expert who has taught millions of people through generations the joy of entertaining, cooking, gardening, collecting, crafting, and home renovating via her eponymous magazine, Martha Stewart Living, Emmy-winning television shows, and 99 books (and counting). Based in Katonah, N.Y., where she helms her 156-acre Bedford Farm, Martha is America's first self-made female billionaire. Editorial Guidelines Updated on December 3, 2024 Rate PRINT Share Servings: 6 Jump to recipe Crispy on the outside and custardy inside, French toast makes a delicious breakfast or brunch recipe. It's a simple dish made with basic ingredients: milk or cream, eggs, butter, and bread. When Martha makes our classic French toast recipe, she uses rich breads like brioche or challah that make it extra pillowy, but any white bread will do. Just be sure the bread is slightly stale (a day or two old) since fresh bread will soak up too much custard. Follow our tips to avoid soggy French toast, and be sure to preheat the oven to keep the first slices warm and crispy while you cook the rest. Then enjoy with maple syrup or your favorite toppings. 21 Breakfast Casseroles Ideal for Brunch and Beyond Brie Goldman The Best Types of Bread for French Toast French toast can be made with any type of bread, but you must use bread that is a day or two old. Older bread will be drier and hold up better in the egg mixture. Fresh bread soaks up too much of the mixture and tends to fall apart. You can use anything from leftover croissants to cinnamon-raisin bread to French bread or sliced white bread for French toast. Martha prefers rich, spongy breads like brioche and challah for making French toast—and these are our go-to's. French Toast Variations French toast is an infinitely variable dish. Flavor the egg mixture with spices, booze (Martha likes Grand Marnier), citrus zest, or flavored extracts, such as almond. Take it up a notch by making Baked French Toast or stuffed French toast. What to Serve With French Toast You can’t beat the perfect pairing of maple syrup with French toast, but there are many other delicious serving options: Mixed fresh berries Sliced bananas, pecans, and honey Breakfast sausages Whipped cream and blueberries Smoked salmon and crème fraîche Bacon Scrambled eggs Fried eggs Sautéed Maple Syrup Apples Cook Mode (Keep screen awake) Ingredients 6 large eggs 1 ½ cups heavy cream, half-and-half, or milk 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon Pinch of ground nutmeg Pinch of salt 6 slices (1-inch-thick) bread, preferably day old 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 4 tablespoons vegetable oil Pure maple syrup, for serving (optional) Directions Brie Goldman Whisk eggs, cream, vanilla, and spices: Whisk together eggs, cream, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Brie Goldman Arrange bread in shallow dish: Place bread in a shallow baking dish large enough to hold bread slices in a single layer. Brie Goldman Soak bread in egg mixture: Pour egg mixture over bread; soak 10 minutes. Turn slices over; soak until soaked through, about 10 minutes more. Brie Goldman Cook French toast: Preheat oven to 250°F. Place a wire rack on a baking sheet, and set aside. Heat 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Fry half the bread slices until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to wire rack and place in preheated oven while cooking remaining French toast. Wipe skillet, and repeat with remaining butter, oil, and bread. Brie Goldman The rack allows for air circulation so the slices stay crisp. If they were sitting directly on the baking rack or were stacked on top of each other, they could get soggy. Serve: Serve warm with pure maple syrup, if desired. Brie Goldman Frequently Asked Questions Is French toast a French dish? French toast might be a French dish but most evidence suggests that cooks have been making a similar dish in many different countries for centuries. The origins of the dish are believed to date back to ancient Rome. French toast is known and enjoyed in France, where it is called pain perdu (lost bread) but the evidence that French toast is a truly French dish is scant. Can I use dairy-free milk? Yes, you can use dairy-free milk for this French toast recipe. Simply swap the amount of dairy milk in the recipe for the same amount of an alternative milk. If possible, we recommend using a thicker dairy-free milk for the egg mixture rather than a thinner one. What's the best way to prevent French Toast from getting too dry? To prevent French toast from being too dry, ensure you have soaked the bread long enough in the egg mixture. When cooking, make sure your stovetop isn’t too low-heat. Low heat increases the cooking time and results in dry French toast. How to prevent French toast from being too soggy? To prevent French toast from being too soggy you must first ensure that the bread you use isn’t fresh. French toast is best made with dry or stale bread because it won’t soak up too much of the egg mixture. Fresh bread will absorb too much of the egg mixture and become soggy. Also, dip the bread in the egg mixture rather than leaving it sit in it as this can also lead to soggy French toast. More French Toast Recipes to Try French Toast With Blueberry Maple Syrup Cinnamon-Raisin French Toast Casserole Baked Blueberry French Toast Casserole Crème Brûlée French Toast Caramel Apple French Toast Pear and Raspberry Baked French Toast Originally appeared: Martha Stewart Living, April 2001 Rate It PRINT Updated by Victoria Spencer Victoria Spencer Victoria Spencer is an experienced food editor, writer, and recipe developer. She manages the Martha Stewart recipe archive and is always curious about new ingredients and the best techniques. She has been working in food media for over 20 years.