Baked Cinnamon French Toast

My maternal grandfather loved sweets.  As a kid, I always found his 'sweet tooth' to be somewhat surprising.  My grandfather was the man that awoke by 7 a.m. during retirement and started his day with a heart-healthy breakfast and a 3 mile walk.  He seemed to always chose protein and vegetables over carbohydrates at every meal. He would even question when other family members would chose to add salt to their food, declaring it unnecessary and an unhealthy practice.

But when it came to sweet treats like cookies, cakes and pies, my grandfather had no restraint.  In fact, he would often get hypnotized by cooking shows on television.  My grandparents had an open, ranch-style layout in their home.  You could easily see into the living room from the kitchen.  I can vividly remember as a pre-teen helping my grandmother prepare dinner in the kitchen and she would peer into the living room to see that my grandfather was watching another one of those food shows featuring something sweet.  She would instantly groan and whisper to my mother and I that we better turn the oven on because my grandfather was going to want dessert after dinner.  My grandfather would continue to watch the cooking show and after about 20 minutes call out to my grandmother that he knows she could make this... and rattle off the ingredient list to her.

She would always say yes, and unbeknownst to him, she would roll her eyes and gather the ingredients.  I asked my grandfather why he liked sweets so much, and what he told me awed me. My grandfather was a child during the Great Depression.  He said it was a struggle for his parents to keep food on the table for him and his siblings. On Sundays, they would all go to church and upon returning home immediately begin morning chores.  When he was finished, he'd walk in through the back door of the house and sometimes he would see a cake cooling on the porch.  He knew if they were having cake for dessert with their Sunday meal that it was going to be a good (prosperous) week for the family.  

I think that is why my grandmother always said yes to his impromptu requests. And it has definitely influenced my sentiments to bake for others.  A few years ago, I was watching The Pioneer Woman on the Food Network and thought to myself - Self, you can make that baked french toast.  And since then I have mastered the recipe over the years to create a warm, cinnamon, breakfast, bread pudding.  It has graced my table for several brunches I have hosted for family and friends as it serves a crowd of 8-12 easily. I know my dearly, departed grandfather would have loved this dish.  Today, I made it for my office staff in hope that it will start them off for a good (albeit busy) week. 

Over the years, I learned several things while making this recipe.  Here's what I can share:

1. The type of bread you use will determine your results. The bread for this dish is the star!  The original recipe called for sourdough or french bread.  Those are great suggestions and I've made the recipe with those, but I choose to use a cinnamon swirl bread.  Why? It compliments the cinnamon crunch topping perfectly. There are several brands of cinnamon swirl bread in chain grocery stores and I'm sure you could also find a great recipe to make your own, but I use a cinnamon swirl bread from my local bakery, The Bread Chef (see picture at the top of this post).

2. The whole milk and heavy cream are irreplaceable. So if the bread is the star of this breakfast dish, the milk is the stage.  There are lots of recipes where you can exchange low fat milk for whole milk, but this recipe is not one of those.  You need the fat represented in the whole milk and heavy cream to keep this dish tender and moist.  When baked properly, this dish has a crunchy top layer and a bread pudding center; the fat content helps to create the bread pudding texture.

3. The prepared dish should be refrigerated for at least 8 hours prior to baking.  The original recipe suggested that you can make this dish and immediately bake it or refrigerate it overnight.  I say overnight (8-12 hours) refrigeration is a must!  In fact, I prepare the dish the night before I plan to serve it and after I pour the milk mixture over the bread, I wrap the dish with saran wrap and gently place a heavy book on the saran wrap while it chills in the refrigerator overnight.  The book serves as a weight so the bread absorbs the milk mixture properly.  Bakes perfectly every time for me.

4. Real maple syrup for the win!  Seriously.  Get rid of that imitation stuff.  Have you ever read the ingredients label on the bottle of imitation syrup?  I can't even pronounce half of the words on the list.  Live on the wild side and find a local place that carries maple syrup.  My go-to is actually an apple butter maple syrup from White House Fruit Farm.

5. Adding fruit is optional. The original recipe calls for blueberries on the side.  I tried that, but wasn't a fan.  I've tossed some chopped apples on the top, after adding the milk mixture but before add the cinnamon topping, and that was enjoyable but unnecessary.  The dish is perfect sans fruit.

6. It reheats beautifully.  If by some miracle you and your loved ones do not devour this dish in one sitting, you can easily store it in the refrigerator for up to five days.  All it needs is a few minutes of reheating in the microwave.

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Baked Cinnamon French Toast

French Toast Ingredients:

Crisco, for greasing 

1 loaf of Cinnamon Swirl Bread, cubed (or 12 cups of your favorite, crusty bread)

8 whole Eggs

2 cups Whole Milk

1/2 cup Heavy Cream

1/2 cup Sugar

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract

Topping Ingredients:

1/2 cup Flour

1/2 cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon Salt

1 stick Cold Butter, Cut Into Pieces

Syrup, for serving

Yield: 12 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes (plus 8 hours)

Bake Time: 35-45 minutes

Directions: 

1. For the French Toast: Grease the bottom and sides of an 8x12 baking pan with crisco. Tear the bread into chunks, or cut into cubes, and evenly distribute in the pan. Crack the eggs in a mixing bowl. Whisk together the eggs.  Then whisk the eggs with the milk, cream, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Pour evenly over the bread. Cover the pan tightly and store in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours. 

2. For the Topping: Pulse the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a food processor until incorporated.  Slice butter into tablespoon slices and add the butter to the flour mixture in the food processor, and pulse it all together until the mixture resembles small pebbles (approximately 15 pulses). Store in a plastic bag and refrigerate. 

3. When you're ready to bake the casserole, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Remove the casserole from the fridge and sprinkle the topping over the top. Bake for approximately 40 minutes for a firm, crispy top texture and a softer, more bread pudding inside texture.

4. Cut and scoop out 12 individual portions. Top with warm maple syrup. Enjoy!

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