French toast that is cooked in the middle

The usual failure is a dark crust and a wet, eggy center. That is high heat. Medium is the temperature where the custard sets in the same time the bread browns. If the butter browns in ten seconds, the pan is too hot. Pull it off for a moment.

Day-old bread is better than fresh. Fresh bread is wet already, and the custard turns it to mush before it hits the pan. A standard sandwich loaf, brioche, or challah all work. Thin sandwich bread needs less soak. A thick slice needs the full two minutes and a flip halfway through the soak so the middle is not dry.

The custard

Four eggs and 180 g of whole milk. That is about 3/4 cup. More milk makes a thinner coat that never sets. Less milk makes scrambled egg on toast. The milk chart is the conversion if you are scaling a family card that only lists cups. Sugar is 15 g, a tablespoon, enough to help the browning and not enough to make dessert. Cinnamon goes in the custard so it is in every bite, not a dusting that falls off.

Out of eggs, this recipe does not have a real substitute. The egg is the custard. The egg substitutes page is for cakes and cookies.

Do not crowd the pan. Steam from overlapping slices keeps them pale. Cook in two rounds and hold the first on a rack in a 90°C oven. A stack on a plate sweats and the crust you just made goes soft.

Leftovers reheat in a toaster or a dry pan. The microwave makes them rubbery. A spoon of icing sugar at the table is optional. The icing sugar chart is there if you are weighing a dusting for a crowd.