Sourdough French Toast Recipe
This recipe refines the standard approach to sourdough french toast by focusing on structural integrity and perfect saturation, resulting in a superior output with a crisp exterior and a custard-like center.
Equipment
- Non-stick pan or skillet
- baking sheet
- Shallow pan (for soaking)
- Whisk
- Wide, flat spatula
- Wire rack (optional, for air drying bread)
Ingredients
Custard System Components
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk Crucial for richness; do not substitute with skim milk.
- 0.25 cup brown sugar Provides molasses notes.
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 0.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch salt Helps denature egg proteins slightly.
Bread and Cooking Medium
- 4 slices sourdough bread Cut into 1 inch (2.5cm) thick slices and 6 inches (15cm) long. Must be day-old/stale.
- 0.5 ounce unsalted butter (1 tablespoon/ 15 grams)
Instructions
Preparation and Custard Mixing
- Preheat oven to 195ºF (95º Celsius). Have a baking sheet ready to keep the finished toast warm.
- Whisk together eggs, whole milk, brown sugar, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Simply make sure that there are no streaks of egg; there is no need to incorporate extra air.
- Pour the egg mixture into a shallow pan that will snugly fit all the bread in one layer.
Saturation and Cooking
- Add the bread into the egg mixture and turn over until the bread has absorbed all the liquid (aiming for approximately 3 minutes total soak time for 1-inch thick slices).
- While the bread is soaking, heat a non-stick pan or skillet on medium-low heat.
- Add ½ of the butter and allow it to foam up and almost brown, then slide in two soaked slices of bread.
- Cook for about 3 minutes. After a minute or so, check underneath to ensure it is not browning too quickly. Adjust heat if necessary.
- Flip the bread slices over and cook on the other side for 2 more minutes. Continue monitoring the heat feedback loop.
- Once done, transfer the french toast to the prepared baking sheet and place it into the warming oven (195ºF/95ºC) to keep warm while you cook the remaining bread.
- Wipe out the pan with some kitchen paper to remove burnt solids, then add the remaining butter and repeat the heating and cooking process for the second batch.
- Serve warm immediately with your choice of toppings like maple syrup and fruit.
Notes
Crucially, use day-old or stale sourdough bread, as fresh bread is too moist to absorb the custard efficiently. The slow, medium-low heat is essential to prevent the sugars from burning before the thick center cooks. Wipe the pan completely clean between batches to avoid bitter residue from burned butter solids.
Nutrition
Calories: 372kcalCarbohydrates: 53gProtein: 15gFat: 10g
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