Put Your Oven To Work For Crispy French Toast Without The Hassle

There are few things better than waking up to the smell of fresh French toast on the stovetop. If you're the one making the breakfast, the only way to top this soft, syrupy treat is to make the workload a little lighter on yourself. Pancakes can pass as a quick weekday breakfast, but French toast is more labor-intensive and usually reserved for special occasions. One way to make the fave breakfast and brunch treat a little more accessible and hands-off is to pop it in the oven. This way, you can forgo standing over a hot burner and laboriously cooking each slice of bread one at a time.

To prepare your French toast in the oven, you can follow the same recipe as you would if making it the traditional way. Instead of dropping dunked slices onto a sizzling frying pan though, you'll nestle bread into a baking dish and pop an oven heated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for around 10 minutes, then flip if needed and cook a few more minutes on the other side until golden brown.

Baking French toast versus cooking on the stovetop is not only a time saver, but it can also result in a much crispier end result if that's your jam. Everyone has a preference — just like you either like crisped-up cookies or chewier ones. A slight manipulation of the oven temp makes the difference. Crank up the heat slightly for a crispier bite, or turn down for denser, moister slices.

The standard recipe for French toast is less recipe and more a set of suggestions or guidelines. The must-haves are of course bread, milk, generous amounts of cinnamon, eggs, and perhaps a splash of vanilla. But you can also make a plant-based version with nondairy milk and things like flax eggs or even nutritional yeast (the ingredient no vegan kitchen is complete without) which mimics the egg flavor surprisingly well. Standard wisdom dictates using crusty bread, preferably a day old or so, or you could mix things up and use airy Japanese milk bread as the perfect base for a pillowy, cloud-like texture.

Treating French toast as more of a baked bread pudding or dessert casserole also means you can lace your basic recipe with all sorts of additions. Think adding splashes of booze, like bourbon, to the batter. Or amp up the decadence factor by "stuffing" your carbs with lush layers of cream cheese or juicy berries that add gooey, rich texture and sweetness to each bite. Then, use your newly freed-up time while your French toast does its thing in the oven, entirely hands off, to prep other breakfast sides. Maybe make a batch of homemade berry compote to go with it, or mix yourself up a round of the ultimate brunch cocktail — mimosas – and raise a glass to luxurious breakfasts, ready to enjoy with less work.