How to Make the Best (and Easiest) French Toast

[Music] the biggest problem with making french toast is that you can usually only fit two maybe three slices in the skillet at the same time which means you have to cook serve and eat in batches so we wanted to find an easier way to make french toast for a crowd and elle is going to show us how it's done that's right and in addition to making it faster and easier we wanted to make it without having to use any special type of bread we're just going to use the hearty white bread we have in our pantry so i'm going to start with three large eggs to that i'm going to add two teaspoons of packed brown sugar a half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon one tablespoon of vanilla extract not skimping there no way and a quarter teaspoon of salt so mixing this together just make sure that all the spices get mixed into the egg very well we want to make sure that there are no streaks of egg left at the end of it okay all right now that it's well mixed we need to add two tablespoons of unsalted butter so this two tablespoons of melted butter is gonna make our french toast more luxe and have more deep rich flavor through and through so i'm gonna add this last one cup of milk and then we're ready to go all right all right now that we have a nice well mixed custard it's time to start making our french toast okay all right i'm just gonna put this here to the side and bring over an 18 by 13 rim baking sheet and that is not a skillet it is not a skillet in this case it's even better than skillet because we're going to put the french toast in the oven oh i love it yes i'm just going to treat it with a little bit of cooking spray now we're going to go into the pan with our custard no more dipping of the bread this is looking easier and easier that's the whole point all right so we have eight slices of hearty ripe bread that you would have at home love it and we're just going to put the bread in a single layer on the sheet in the custard and we only want the custard to soak in about a quarter of an inch on each side and so just as i've laid this last piece down it's already time to flip over to the other side so that it can absorb as well so fast and so even the other thing the first piece that gets dunked in the bowl is usually very different than the last phase that's very true this is going to be even there's going to be no waste because all this custard is going to absorb in about a minute and there's no fuss we really didn't have to do a whole lot of work okay so we're going to cook this french toast in the oven so it's going to cook in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes until the bottom of the bread is golden brown we're starting with the rack in the lowest position in the oven we have a second rack set five to six inches from the broiler and it's at 425 degrees okay oh starting to smell like french toast in here oh yeah oh yeah let's check it and see how brown it is on the bottom that looks perfect nice a little spotty spotty's okay yes the most amazing thing is that we don't have to flip this french toast we're just gonna move it up to the broiler and let it finish cooking on the opposite side oh i like it it's easy so we're just moving it to the top this is about five to six inches from the broiler and this is going to go for about one to four minutes as soon as the broiler goes on you start counting and then we'll be ready to go all right perfect we cannot leave we have to stay here and watch it all right it's been about four minutes let's take a look that's amazing oh wow that's perfect that is straight up amazing okay so i'm just going to flip these over both sides have had a good time to cook i'm gonna flip it over so the bottom can steam because sometimes that broiling can dry it out a little bit so by flipping it over you're just trapping the steam so the top can soften a little bit yes there we go look at that yeah all at one time all in the oven and as you said before there was no leftover egg mixture no waste no waste at all no fuss no waste my favorite kind of breakfast and i think we are ready for french toast all right okay two pieces yes two pieces nice let's put a little butter this is beautiful i love your plate your plate is a lot of butter with a little syrup all right i'm gonna dig right in all right crisp and it has that little tender bit right in the middle yeah crisp all the way around that's right a little custardy right in the middle that is french toast perfection my favorite part are the crispy edges that is the best part cooked well through and through not soggy and it has a great flavor i mean you can taste the spices and the vanilla that you put in there not too much but it doesn't just taste like eggy bread it tastes like french toast this is terrific thank you i just love how easy it was so to make this easy french toast beat together three eggs a few seasonings melted butter and whole milk then pour into a greased rim baking sheet lay pieces of sandwich bread onto the sheet and let it soak up the egg mixture on both sides bake on the lowest rack of the oven then turn it on the broiler and let the tops brown for a few minutes before serving flip the toast over to soften the toasted tops and serve with plenty of butter and syrup from america's test kitchen to your kitchen a fabulous new recipe for everyday french toast killer killer recipe thanks for watching america's test kitchen what'd you think well leave a comment and let us know which recipes you're excited to make or you can just say hello you can find links to today's recipes and reviews in the video description and don't forget to subscribe to our channel see you later i'll see you later

Channel: America's Test Kitchen

Views: 1,215,676

Keywords: americas test kitchen, cooks illustrated, cooks country, french toast, easy french toast, how to make french toast, breakfast recipes, brunch recipes

Id: -6joNSLxhgs

Length: 5min 47sec (347 seconds)

Published: Mon May 17 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/i_love_anachronisms]

This technique kinda blew my mind. Never would I have thought to just dump liquid on a cookie sheet and go. This is why I love ATK!

[u/empressofnodak]

I needed to see this

[u/illgetyouatoe]

These are a staple in my house! E wry one loves them. They are not the absolute best but for the time and mess saved they are fantastic!

[u/profscarf87]

Many thanks!

[u/joewhaley]

Sorry, but although this looks like an interesting technique, it was a failure for me.

First off, the amount of liquid you need will significantly vary by the size and thickness of bread slices you are using, so this technique of putting the liquid first and the bread on top will only work if you happen to use bread slices that are exactly the same size and thickness as they used when they designed the recipe (which they don't even specify in the recipe). I found the technique of placing the bread and pouring the liquid over it to work better, as it allows me to adjust the ratio.

Second, if there is extra space in your sheet pan that is not covered by bread, it will burn, and will be a major pain to clean, so I would recommend making sure your sheet pan is completely filled without any large gaps around the edges.

Third, this recipe uses a lot of (very expensive) vanilla - a 1 fl oz of pure vanilla extract costs almost $5, and this uses a full half-ounce - and the vanilla flavor doesn't come through, so I would recommend using artificial vanilla if you try this.

Finally, it is much more difficult to get the correct level of doneness in the oven as compared to a griddle/skillet. You need to watch it like a hawk because it can go from undercooked to overcooked in about 30 seconds. It is also sensitive to the distance from the broiler.