Brown Sugar Sheet-Pan French Toast
Published May 7, 2024
- Total Time
- 4 hours 45 minutes
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 40 minutes, plus 4 hours' soaking
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 6large eggs
- 2¼cups/535 grams whole milk
- 2teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½teaspoon fine sea salt or table salt
- 1(1-pound) challah loaf, cut into 1-inch-thick slices
- 1packed cup/210 grams dark brown sugar
- ½cup/113 grams unsalted butter, melted
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
462 calories; 21 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 57 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 30 grams sugars; 12 grams protein; 452 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
In a bowl, whisk eggs until well combined, then whisk in milk, vanilla, cinnamon and salt.
- Step 2
Place the bread in a rimmed sheet pan. Pour the mixture on top and flip the slices to coat with custard on both sides. Let bread soak in the refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight. Flip the bread again halfway through soaking (or about an hour before baking).
- Step 3
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Pour brown sugar and melted butter onto a baking sheet and use an offset spatula to help combine it into a smooth mixture.
- Step 4
Carefully place the bread on top of the sugared baking sheet, leaving any excess liquid in the other pan. Bake for 27 to 35 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and puffed and the sugar is bubbling.
- Step 5
Serve immediately, with the crunchy brown sugar side facing up, and drizzle more of the pan syrup on top.
Private Notes
Comments
If you're already using a saucepan to melt the butter, why not combine the brown sugar with the butter in it. That's certainly easier than trying to stir it all together on the sheet.
I made this today. One pan soaked in the custard overnight and the brown sugar did not caramelize. The other pan was made up in the morning and only soaked in the custard for a short time - it was caramelized and I liked it better. Added orange zest to the custard. Both versions were eaten with delight. Will definitely make it again
Delicious! My only change is to use salted butter instead of unsalted for the brown sugar mixture. Also LOVED the tip about cutting into chunks instead of slices - way easier to soak.
My new French Toast recipe! Didn’t have challah, but Melissa’s recipe was fantastic with a large loaf of French Brioche which I cut into twelve 1-1/4 inch thick slices that easily soaked up all the liquids on my half-sheet pan in 4 hours. Since two of the six at dinner were my grandsons (7 and 4 years old), I wanted to reduce the amount of sugar, so I warmed a second pan in the oven to melt a 4 tablespoon chunk of cold butter over the inside and sprinkled about 2 to 3 tablespoons of brown cane sugar over the butter. No stirring needed. The butter and sugar caramelized, of course, and the tops were golden brown in 20 minutes. There was not even a crumb left after the meal, and the brown sugar meant far less maple syrup got used!
Made this as written except soaked for 30 minutes and cooked in an air fryer on a piece of foil with turned up sides. Melted the butter on the foil then added the sugar. No pan needed. One slice cooked in less than 10 minutes.
A very forgiving recipe that offers a festive sugar bomb that is lovely to share with friends and family. I approached it from a "use what we have" standard, and it was basically a showstopper made from staples. Enjoyed it even more the next day when we put the leftovers in the airfryer . . .