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By Lewis Bake Shop, Lewis Bake Shop

French Toast Casserole

French toast is the ultimate comfort food, but this recipe takes the deliciousness a step further. With no dipping and flipping, you can assemble this recipe the night before and pop it in the oven in the morning to have an easy breakfast for the whole family. Lewis Bake Shop: Bread For The Way You Live™!

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 loaf Lewis Bake Shop 24oz Texas Toast Bread (or 2 Half Loaves)
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
  • 6 eggs
  • 2 cups milk
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract

Topping:

  • 4 tbsp butter, melted
  • 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar

Make ahead the night before:

  • Grease a 9″x13″ baking dish.
  • Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and stir in brown sugar until it dissolves. Spread the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
  • Place 1 layer of bread slices over mixture in baking dish to cover the bottom of the dish. (Note: you can cut the slices in 1 inch cubes if you would like, or you can simply lay the slices of bread in the pan as is.) Top the bread slices with 1/4 cup of pecans, if desired.
  • In a large bowl, beat together eggs, milk and vanilla. Pour half of the mixture over the bread slices in the baking dish.
  • In a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients. Spread half of the topping over the bread slices in the baking dish.
  • Place a second layer of bread slices and optional pecans in the baking dish, and pour the rest of the egg mixture over the bread. Lightly press bread down to make sure all the pieces are soaked in the mixture. Spread the remaining topping mixture on top.
  • Cover and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning:

  • Remove the dish from the refrigerator about 20-30 minutes prior to baking. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • Loosely cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10-15 more minutes until the top is lightly browned. Let stand for 5-10 minutes.
  • Dust with powdered sugar, if desired, and serve with the syrup from the dish.
  • Refrigerate any leftovers.
This recipe is a big hit with both kids and adults! It’s got enough cinnamon and sugar goodness that no maple syrup is needed! To start, grease the bottom of a 9″x13″ baking dish.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium low heat and stir in the brown sugar until it dissolves.
Then spread the mixture into the bottom of the pan. If you don’t want the casserole to be super sweet, you can leave this step out, but we highly recommend this bottom layer. If forms a caramel- like syrup that adds extra flavor to this casserole.
Add 1 layer of bread slices over the mixture. If you are using Lewis Bake Shop Texas Toast 1/2 Loaves instead of the 24oz loaf, you will use all of the slices in the first half loaf for the first layer. It is not necessary to cut the bread in 1 inch cubes. Just layering the slices in the pan works just fine. At this point, you can add 1/4 cup of chopped pecans for a little extra crunchiness.
In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, milk and vanilla. You can use a stand mixer, hand mixer, or simply use a whisk.
Pour the egg mixture over the first layer of bread, coating all of the bread slices. Lightly press down on the slices with a spatula to soak the mixture into each slice.
In a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients.
Spread the topping mixture over the first layer of bread using a spatula.
Place a second layer of bread in the baking dish, pressing down lightly.
Pour the remaining egg mixture and spread the remaining mixture over the second layer of bread. Cover the baking dish and refrigerate overnight. You can certainly bake at this time if you need to, but it is best to let the bread fully absorb the mixture overnight.

In the morning, remove the dish from the refrigerator about 20-30 minutes prior to baking to take the chill off. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
If there are any leftovers, you can store them in the refrigerator and reheat in the microwave later. However, with this casserole, it is not likely that you will have leftovers!