Alton Brown's French Toast

By Addie

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2003
Show: Good Eats
Episode: Toast Modern

Ingredients

• 1 cup half-and-half
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons honey, warmed in microwave for 20 seconds
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 (1/2-inch) slices day-old or stale country loaf, brioche or Challah bread
• 4 tablespoons butter

Preparation

Step 1

1. In medium size mixing bowl, whisk together the half-and-half, eggs, honey, and salt. You may do this the night before. When ready to cook, pour custard mixture into a pie pan and set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Dip bread into mixture, allow to soak for 30 seconds on each side, and then remove to a cooling rack that is sitting in a sheet pan, and allow to sit for 1 to 2 minutes.

3. Over medium-low heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a 10-inch nonstick saute pan. Place 2 slices of bread at a time into the pan and cook until golden brown, approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove from pan and place on rack in oven for 5 minutes. Repeat with all 8 slices. Serve immediately with maple syrup, whipped cream or fruit.

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REVIEWS

Good recipe. First time I followed the recipe exactly. Used Challah bread cut thick (7/8". Let sit out overnight. Didn't seem to soak up enough custard. (Yes, I let it stand a couple of minutes before browning. Not bad but I tried again. Second time I used Challah bread cut a litter thinner, 3/4" thick. Since it wasn't hard it seemed to soak up more custard. Being Challah bread it held together just fine. Only browned it for 1.5 minutes each side. Put it in oven for 4 minutes instead of 5. Came out perfect. You probably have to make adjustments on the fly depending on the bread you're using. But it is a fool proof recipe for french toast. Thanks, Alton.

Love this recipe! We cut up strawberries and served with powdered sugar in place of syrup. Delicious!

Outstanding Mr. B! Made it for my wife and was instantly elevated to "rock star of the kitchen" status. Was torn between this one and Ina Garten's, so I just added the vanilla that she uses to this recipe. I used Challah bread and cut it about Texas toast thick. 4 slices soaked up the entire custard, so will double that next time. Finishing it in the oven really did the trick for cooking the slices all the way through.

Tasty but mushy - worked much better with my griddle than my saute pan.

You don't have to use that fancy bread, white bread works just fine and no half n half. Milk is good and maple syrup works just great! The butter, sugar and cinnamon work just as well. French Toast is one of the nicest, toasty breakfasts you can have, it doesn't need any fancy stuff to it. What I said above, it's that simple.. and it comes out just wonderful, a little bit of this and a little bit of that. At the end, sprinkle w/powdered sugar and ENJOY!!!

Amazing and easy to follow! I followed the recipe exactly and it was delicious!

One of my favorite breakfast recipes. Great using Challah...even better using cinnamon-raisin Challah!

I use day or 2 old french bread. The kind the larger grocery stores bake fresh everyday. Usually in baskets by the check-out counter. Slice it thick. About 1 inch. Oh so good!

I love this recipe! I made it for my family and now they say I make the best French Toast. Thank you so mucH!

I Love this recipe! It was not only easy but delicious. I added just a touch of cinnamon. Every time I look for a recipe and find one by Alton Brown it never lets me down!

Thanks for a great recipe! I'm a first timer and my daughter loves them :

I use day or 2 old french bread. The kind the larger grocery stores bake fresh everyday. Usually in baskets by the check-out counter. Slice it thick. About 1 inch. Oh so good!

It was my first time making french toast. . . I made the recipe as Alton instructed, and also with Nutella. I made Nutella sandwiches and then followed the rest of the recipe as instructed. Both ways came out great. I'll never order french toast in a restaurant again. This recipe made much better french toast than I've ever had. Next time, I'm going to try mixing it up with vanilla, cinnamon, orange zest, or maybe

First time I ever used a recipe to cook something and I am glad I did. Best french toast I ever had. Can't wait to make them for my boyfriend. Thanks Alton!

Great basic recipe. I sometimes sprinkle the toast with a little bit of light brown sugar before cooking - it caramelizes in the pan and gives it a sort of Creme Brulee crust.

This is almost how I make mine. I use equal parts heavy cream & half & half and then instead of honey I use a little almond extract. The slight almond flavor makes a big difference.It's delicious.


Ill comment by saying that I hated french toast. It was the last option when it came to breakfast options.... Until i made french toast following Alton's instructions. The key is day-old bread. The inside is almost like a custard.. Its gone from my least favorite dish, to the one I wait all week to have on Sunday.

This is delicious! I just wish we had a grocery store that sold Challah, because I can only imagine that would make it absolutely heavenly! Either way, this is my go-to French toast recipe.

Always love Alton's recipes! We use the same method of only cooking for 2-3 minutes per side and then putting them in oven to finish. Our recipe also has nutmeg, cinnamon and orange zest! Check it out at 1cupawesome(dotcom - search for french toast

I love this recipe!! I did not have any stale crusty bread but I did have English Muffins in the freezer. I got them out and left to partially thaw, just enough to fork split them. I soaked each half in the egg mixture for about a minute, until saturated but not soggy. I skipped the draining step and just let the excess drip before placing them in the melted butter in the skillet. I let them cook until lightly browned on each side, even turning them once or twice. They were fabulous when served. We had pure Maple syrup and some strawberry jam with them. The tiny holes in the muffins kept them light and fluffy. They were the closest thing to a pancake I can imagine. My husband dislikes English muffins, but he loved these. He asked me to continue serving this!!

I never really like french toast but my husband and son wanted it so I found this recipe and now I can say that I love this french toast but I did add some cinnamon to it and I did make my own bread for the toast but it was great.

I've made this recipe twice now and it is absolutely delicious. The first time I used honey, the second time I didn't and it didn't make a difference. I also added vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon to it for a little extra flavor both times. I was devastated that my grocery store didn't have Challah the first time, so I used Italian bread. Following the measurements exactly, I barely had enough batter/custard for the Italian loaf. The second time I did find Challah and had to DOUBLE the recipe to get 7 slices coated. Just an FYI. Otherwise, this recipe is now my one and only French Toast recipe!

This recipe has become a birthday tradition for my wife and daughter. It is soooo tasty!

Absolutely delicious! We made ours with Challah. Sprinkled cinnamon on top with warmed maple syrup. So, so good.

Yuuuuummmm. Love this French Toast recipe. It is soooo good. Alton is right. Putting it in the oven gives it that final touch.....gives it that nice crisp taste on the outside and soft and moist on the inside!! I used french bread and it came out very tasty.