How to Make French Toast - Cooking Directions Recipe

When cooked correctly, french toast is delicious!

When I started this page my goal was to explain how to make amazing french toast, not just any type anyone can quickly slap together.

You can slap it together or you can follow the instructions on this page and win respect of your friends and relatives with your french toast.

There are many variations of making french toast out there: for example with cinnamon, filled with cream cheese and baked overnight caserole.

On this page we will make the basic french toast for 2 people. Or for 1 person who is really hungry. In other words the french toast recipe on this page will use 4 slices of bread.

Because for every slice of bread we will need one egg, we will use 4 eggs to make 4 slices of french toast. Usually, 2 slices of french toast is considered one serving.

If you have square-shaped bread (white, wheat or wonderbread), half a cup of milk and a non-stick frying pan, you are pretty much set for making your basic french toast breakfast.

Choosing the Best Type of Bread for Making French Toast

Did your first french toast turn out to be soggy or lacking in taste? I think I may be able to help you here.

Try toasting your bread before dipping it into the mix.

Good french toast requires "dry" bread, but sweetness of the bread also determine its overall quality.

One common mistake people make when making french toast is that they soak their bread in the milk and egg "concoction" too much.

You have to use dry bread, but because most people use Wonder Bread or other extremely "soft" breads, they need to be hardened first.

Just adding cinnamon and sugar will not make your french toast great.

You have to choose the right bread first. Sweet bread such as King's Hawaiian Sweet Bread makes a superb french toast. The bread you are going to use is what separates the pro from amateur french toast maker :) Use the best bread suggestions from the list below and you won't disappoint your friends with a french toast made by you.

In addition to that you can add a dash of cinnamon, sugar, or even salt, then pour some maple syrup on top, and serve with slices of fruit, pear, strawberry etc.

The type of bread you use matters a lot. If you are going to use Wonder Bread, then yes chances are you are not going to make it.

Top 10 Breads: Bread Will Either Make or Break Your French Toast.

All these types of bread have been carefully chosen by me for making a perfect french toast:

• 1. Sourdough
• 2. Challah
• 3. Schiacciata
• 4. Portuguese sweet bread ("Massa Suvada") this bread will take your french toast to new heights.
• 5. Whole-wheat raisin bread or schiacciata.
• 6. King's Hawaiian Sweet Bread
• 7. Panettone (bread with raisin, but may be too sweet for some)
• 8. Brioche (weaved bread)
• 9. Chinese bakery loaves of bread. Ask to get it cut thick or uncut.
• 10. Any bread you "pre-toast" yourself

We are now ready to make french toast...

How to Make French Toast - Cooking Directions

To make french toast, it will take between 2 to 3 minutes depending on stove top temperature and how quick the surface of the frying pan will become hot, which somewhat depends on the material of the cooking surface.

1. Making the Egg & Milk Mix

Use a shallow bowl to break the eggs into. Add milk and mix until the eggs are thoroughly integrated into the mixture. At this point you also want to add 1/4 of cinnamon, if you wish. Add a teaspoon of sugar into the mix if you want to make it sweet, but don't overdo.

You may also want to put nutmeg powder in at this stage, just a small amount, about 1/4 of a teaspoon.

Not everyone has cinnamon and nutmeg. But that's okay, because these ingredients are optional and while they do make a big difference in the taste, you can still make a great-tasting french toast without them.

2. Preheat the cooking surface

Place the frying pan onto the stove top and heat it up on medium heat, or slightly less than medium. It's important not to burn the toasts, because the eggs burn easily. Spray the pan with vegetable oil spray, or place a little piece of butter on it and wait until it's completely melted.

At this point, your bread has absorbed the egg mix and you are ready to place it onto the surface of the hot frying pan. From here on, just flip the bread over a few times, and observe the eggs cook and brown to the desired level.

3. How to prepare the bread

Dip the bread into the bowl and flip it to ensure that both sides are enveloped by the egg and milk mix. If you want your french roast to have a thicker texture, press onto the bread with a spatula (or your fingers) and allow the bread to soak up the egg mix for a minute or two.

At this point you want to make sure you are not dipping too many slices of bread into the mix. It is recommended to dip one slice at a time, and after 10 to 20 seconds of soaking, place it directly onto the warm pan or preheated griddle. You don't want to have 10 slices soaking in the mix while your pan is heating up.

4. Browning your bread before dipping into the egg mix

There is one alternative way of making french toast that some people would prefer over what I just explained above. Basically if your bread is too soft, you want to create a more stable base, so that the egg can fry around it.

Sometimes you will want to lightly pre-grill your bread on the pan before dipping it into the mix. Then dip it into the eggs and grill it again. Remember that soft breads will absorb more milk and egg, sometimes preventing the bread from being fried thoroughly.

So you want to use this french toast making technique for soft breads. This prevents the milk from sogging the toast during the period it's soaking in the mix, making it more difficult to grill once the milk/egg engulf your toast.

5. How to make your french toast crispy...

The key to making your french toast crispy is to apply a thin layer of butter using a butter knife on both sides of the bread slices. Then, place the two slices of bread on the pan and wait up to 2 minutes until they are grilled on both sides. This must be done before dipping it into the egg and milk mixture. Use spatula to flip the bread every 30 to 60 seconds, depending on how hot the pan is. Keep doing this until your french toast is as crispy as you'd like it to be.

Example of the texture of a french toast cooked to desired crispiness.

6. Bonus tip

Use a sweet type of bread in combination with Coffee Mate Coconut Creme instead of milk.

Timing is the key to crispy toast

The key here is timing. Fry the bread until you achieve the golden brown color. You will be able to get better at making your bread appear golden brown, but it takes some practice. The amount of butter you apply onto the slices of bread in the first round will affect its crispiness. The more butter you add, the crispier your toast will become.

Use the toaster as an alternative to browning the slices of bread to a desired crisp. Don't forget the butter on both sides, even when you toast it. Spreadable butter works best.

Now that you have two pre-toasted, or pre-grilled slices of bread, dip it in the egg and milk mix. Wait a minute or two, and put it onto the hot frying pan again. After learning how to make french toast you can add cinnamon to it and experiment with other types.

Don't let your french toast unattended.