There is a lot of fancy in the food blog world (and on the Internet in general). If you’ve ever done a search on a site like Pinterest, you’ll know what I mean. But good food can also be simple, like this Basic French Toast Recipe. I call it my NO FUSS version of the classic breakfast dish.
After all, where do people get time for all the fancy? It’s cool to look at a work of art, but then when you try to recreate said work of art you most of the time end up with massive failures (speaking from personal experience).
So I wanted to take a step back from the super-hyper world of recipes and instead provide a classic simple french toast recipe. Could I have turned this into MILLIONAIRE CARAMEL APPLE PUMPKIN FRENCH TOAST?
Probably, but sometimes you just want a no frills piece of French Toast that tastes good without all the fluff.
Basic French Toast (No Fuss)
Equipment
- 1 Griddle
Ingredients
- 8-10 slices sandwich bread, stale or toasted
- 1 cup milk
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- Sugar, for cooking
- Unsalted butter, for cooking
- Butter, for serving
- Maple syrup
Instructions
- If your bread isn’t stale, toasted it in a 300 °F oven for 5-6 minutes to dry it out. You don’t want it actually toasted, just dry.
- In a wide, shallow dish, whisk together milk, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt.
- Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat. Once hot, melt a small amount of butter in the pan and spread it around.
- Working with one piece of bread at a time, dip it in the custard mixture and let it soak for a few seconds. Then transfer to the hot skillet or griddle.
- Let the french toast cook for a minute or two on the first side. Sprinkle some sugar on the french toast and give it a flip. Cook the french toast on the second side until it’s browned and the sugar is caramelized, 1-2 minutes.
- Remove french toast and repeat with remaining pieces of bread. Serve warm french toast with butter and syrup.
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
- Want a different easy breakfast option? Try these Individual Baked Oatmeals or this Smoked Salmon Omelet for a savory option!
How to Make Basic French Toast
Again, fancy french toasts are all over and sometimes they have fancy breads. The nice thing about this recipe is that you can use pretty much any bread you want. It’ll work. If you want to get fancy and use brioche or challah, feel free!
But, you can also just use plain old white sandwich bread which brings back memories of my youth.
Whatever bread you use, do make sure it’s pretty stale. If you need to, dry it out in a 300 degree oven for a few minutes before making the recipe.
The Custard Base for French Toast
The base of any good French toast is a simple custard. Mix together some eggs and milk and you are well on your way. At the expense of making this slightly fancy, I also recommend adding cinnamon and vanilla extract.
If you don’t have cinnamon OR vanilla in your pantry, then you probably need to go to the store. Harsh truth.
Whisk all that business together with a pinch of salt.
This is not hard.
When you’re ready to cook the French toast, dip the toast in the custard for a few seconds so it soaks up and then transfer it to your skillet or griddle.
A Simple French Toast Hack
A lot of French toast recipes will have sugar in the custard. I recommend skipping that.
Instead, when you’re cooking the French toast (over medium heat, in butter), sprinkle a tiny layer of sugar on the bread. When you flip the french toast, the sugar will caramelize a bit and make a delicious crust on the French toast.
I used plain, white, cheap sugar.
How Long to Cook French Toast
Cook the French toast over medium heat for a few minutes per side until the bread is nicely browned on the outsides and there isn’t any raw custard on the inside.
Of course, this timing will change if you use different breads. Ultimately you might have to cut into a piece to make sure it’s cooked through and the custard part is set. I can’t imagine that any french toast would need to cook for more than 4 minutes per side though.
These are way more flexible than pancakes in my opinion. You can flip them a few times without too much worry and poke at them to see if they are cooked through or not.
After the basic French toast is cooked, pile it high and deep and put just enough butter on top to create a little butter puddle.
You want the butter puddle.
You almost certainly have everything you need to make this Basic French Toast.
If you’re having a dreary start to the week, there’s no reason not to make really simple homemade French toast.
Leave the fancy to the professionals.
Felicity
I love french toast!!!
However, my Dad always flavoured the custard with savoury herbs, usually the “mixed herbs” from our 1970’s family pantry (marjoram, basil, oregano and thyme). These days I still used the same mixed herbs for a bit of nostalgia, but I’ve also used one or a combination of these: salt, pepper, garlic, rosemary, pimenton, aleppo pepper, rosemary, chilli, cumin…………… well just about any herb or spice really.
Other than flavourings, I always use the same technique as you :-)
Nick
Huh. I’ve never even though of making a savory version like that. Sounds awesome! Thanks for the idea!
Felicity
Funny isn’t it? Until I grew up, I didn’t even know there was a sweet version. LOL
Beth
I make French toast for my daycare kids for breakfast, sometimes feeding 7 people in the morning. I always stop at the half price baked goods section at the grocery store, looking for day old sliced breads – a great price, it’s “firm” already, and sometimes you find some great bread selections! And like your recipe, nothing fancy, just really good French toast.
JIM CAVINESS
SIMPLE IS GOOD–REAL GOOD RECIPE
Susan Gosser
Just like my Mother used to make!!! Absolutely delicious!!
Arthur in the Garden!
I make French Toast all the time. Never been too difficult but I do change the custard mix- sometimes add chipotle, or fennel or other things!
Nick
Totally true Arthur. Once you have the basics down it’s pretty easy to change it up. :)
vickie
So glad I found your site !! It’s about time someone has Simple, Easy Recipes just like I used to make. Thank you !!
Drake
Hi
Do you have any special recipe for mashed potatoes? I usually make mine with a little heavy cream hard-boiled eggs bacon and red onion.
What do you think?
Sue Schneider
I think French Toast is a better option for a nourishing breakfast than pancakes, say. I feel like I am at least getting some protein into my grandson! And since he gets to “dip” (into the syrup) he calls them pancakes anyway. I use one egg, a dash of salt and a couple drops of vanilla and he scarfs them up. So does our 96 year old Aunt who lives with us. She likes eggs, but given the choice, she goes for the sweeter version. At least, she, too, is getting some protein~