How to Make French Toast

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This article was co-written by Jennifer Lease, RD, CDN. Jennifer Lease is a licensed dietitian and trained chef in Denver, Cporado. With over six years of experience in the food and nutrition fields, she specializes in using a plant-based approach when applying nutritional information to cooking. Jennifer holds a bachelor’s degree in nutrition and a nutrition internship from the University of Delaware. She also attended chef training at the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts.

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French Toast is a delicious traditional breakfast dish consisting of sliced bread, eggs, milk and a few sweet ingredients. It is essential that the toast is delicious and spongy. You need to mix the right dough, bake the bread at the right temperature until golden and the eggs are thoroughly cooked. This dish was originally meant to make use of old bread, so if you still have old bread in your house, this is a good opportunity for you to turn it into something useful. Making French toast is both quick and easy if you know how, and it only takes a while to have the perfect dish.

Table of Contents

Ingredient

8 slices of bread
4 large eggs
10 ml milk
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
1 teaspoon (2.5 g) cinnamon powder
¼ cup (30 g) flour (optional)
¼ cup (30 g) sugar (optional)
¼ teaspoon (1.5g) salt (optional)
Butter or non-stick spray

Prepare 4-8 servings

Mix the flour

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Crack 4 eggs into a large bowl. The eggs will be much easier to blend if you let them sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before beating. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Place milk, vanilla extract, and cinnamon powder in a bowl. Measure out 10 ml of milk and pour into the bowl of scrambled eggs. Mix in 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of vanilla extract, followed by 1 teaspoon (2.5 g) of cinnamon powder. It’s important to stir things slowly, as the egg whites need to combine with each ingredient one at a time. ^{[2] X Research Source}

Use whole milk for a richer taste, if desired. The fatter the milk, the thicker the dough and the more delicious it is. ^{[3] X Research Sources}
If you like it sweeter, you can add ¼ cup (30 g) of sugar or a little honey to the mixture.
¼ teaspoon (1.5 g) of added salt can help smooth the mixture.

Beat the mixture with a fork or whisk. Use a fork or spatula to beat quickly in a circular motion, being careful not to spill or splash. The egg yolk will break down quickly, and that’s when you should focus on mixing the ingredients together. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

When done beating, the dough will be smooth and a uniform light brown color.
Make sure to beat the eggs thoroughly so that no egg trails are left in the batter.

Stir in more flour to thicken the dough and make the bread more fluffy, if desired. Beat in ¼ cup (30 g) of flour like the rest of the ingredients in the dough. You don’t have to melt all the clumps in the dough, but try to beat until the mixture is smooth and uniform. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

Flour is optional, but many restaurants use flour for a better texture. As a result, the toast will be more spongy and less soft.

Toast

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Place a cast iron skillet on the stove if you use a stove. Choose a cast iron pan large enough to comfortably bake 2 slices of cake. If you are baking large batches of cakes, a wide griddle may be a more efficient option. ^{[6] X Research Source}

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Grate 1 tbsp (15 ml) butter or spray non-stick oil into the pan. Place about 1 tablespoon (15ml) of butter in the center of the pan to spread it all over the pan as it melts. If using non-stick spray, spray evenly over the bottom of the pan. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

If you’re using a grill, nonstick spray is a better choice.
Butter will add flavor to the toast, but the oil spray will help reduce the fat in an already greasy dish like French toast.

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Turn the stove to medium-high or turn on the grill to 177 degrees Celsius. Wait for the pan or grill to heat up completely. If using butter, be sure to wait for the butter to completely melt before moving on to the next step. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

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Reduce heat to medium low when the butter has melted. If you use butter, the pan will be hot enough once the butter has melted. If you’re using an electric griddle, you’ll need to keep an eye on the temperature and bake the cake when the grill has been preheated to the correct temperature.

If you bake at the highest temperature, the cake will burn, but the inside will still be alive.
If you find the fire too low, you can increase the heat a bit, as long as it’s not too hot.

Dip 2 slices of bread at a time into the egg mixture. You can use your hands to dip the bread slices into the mixture or use tongs if you don’t want the dough to stick to your hands. Dip the bread slice briefly a few times to coat the slice with a thin layer of dough, or soak the bread in the mixture for 30 seconds to 5 minutes and flip once when half-soaked. ^{[9] X Research Source}

Soaking bread in the mixture is preferable to stale bread, which has a hard, thick crust. Thin sandwhich can become mushy when soaked for a long time. Soak the sandwhich slices for about 30-60 seconds.
Do not soak the bread for too long or it will become mushy and fall apart when baking.
Use a cookie sheet instead of a large bowl if you’re baking large batches.

Place each slice of bread dipped in batter into the hot pan. You can use your hands or tongs to place both slices of bread on the pan or griddle. Gently place the slice of cake on top of the hot pan to prevent the butter from splashing on you. ^{[10] X Research Source}

Bake for 1-4 minutes on each side or until golden. Wait until the cake is golden on each side before turning it over with a shovel. Check to see if there are still uncooked eggs inside to make sure the cake is done. ^{[11] X Research Source}

You can sprinkle sugar over the bread in the pan before flipping. This will create a crispy layer of caramelized sugar on top of the cake. However, if you have already added sugar to the dough, the cake may end up being too sweet.

Serve French Toast

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Remove the toast from the pan and place it on a plate. Use tongs, shovel, or fork to lift the cake out of the pan and place it on a plate. French toast served hot will help enhance the flavor of the eggs without getting cold or mushy.

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Try serving with ricotta cheese for an extra savory option. Ricotta is a spreadable cheese that can be used in both savory and sweet dishes, making it a perfect choice for French toast. It will bring a bit of new flavor on the slice of pies that goes well with fruit and also with savory dishes like bacon or sausage. ^{[12] X Research Source}

Put fruit on slices of cake to enhance the flavor. Besides the other toppings (ingredients placed on top of the cake to enhance the flavor), slices of fresh fruit, berries, jam and hot apple sauce are all great accompaniments to French toast. This topping can be used in any meal. You can combine it with cheese for a savory treat or with syrup and sugar for a sweet treat. ^{[13] X Research Source}

Halves, sliced apples, raspberries, blueberries, and cranberries all go well with French toast.

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Sprinkle cinnamon powder or powdered sugar over the cake. These ingredients go well with every sweet topping you can think of and are the main topping of French toast. Sprinkle a small amount if you’re serving the cake with syrup or another sweet topping, unless you want to make a dessert. ^{[14] X Research Source}

Cocoa powder will bring out a chocolate flavor that goes well with the fruit.

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Spread chocolate on toast. A little chocolate spread on the cake will turn toast into a favorite dessert. Use a chocolate knife to spread butter like butter to each slice for a delicious sweet topping for French toast.

Try hazelnut jam with chocolate for a change of flavor.

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Drizzle syrup over toast for a traditional breakfast flavor. Whether you prefer maple syrup or simple sugar syrup, either makes a delicious sweet condiment to French toast. Serve syrup next to slices of toast so everyone can use as much or as little as they like. ^{[15] X Research Source}

Try using honey as another sweet treat. The honey is sweet, aromatic and unique enough to bring a new flavor to French toast.

Advice

The cinnamon rolls sold at the supermarket’s pastry counter can also make great French toast.
Wait 3 minutes before mixing the dough for the cinnamon powder to infuse and create a rich flavor.
You can also make stuffed French toast. The filling can be jam and cream cheese or banana and peanut butter.
Thicker bread will be firm enough to soak in the egg mixture. Look for Texas bread, for example. ^{[16] X Research Source}
Leftover egg mixture can be used to make scrambled eggs or omelets

Warning

Always toast the French toast thoroughly. Raw eggs can make you nauseous. ^{[17] X Trusted Source Centers for Disease Contrp and Prevention Go to source}

Things you need

Big bowl
Pan
Stove or grill
Fork or whisk
Cooking shovel
Plate