Brunch at the Taylors- French Toast Bake

Hi all! This morning my husband was lucky enough to wake up to the most yummy (and least healthy) breakfast he will ever have. My mom's old french toast bake! It's super easy, definitely a crowd pleaser, and can be made with ingredients you more than likely already have sitting around. This is perfect for a family brunch or one of those dishes you bring to a friend or family's house to be rewarmed later. 

Let's dive right in!

You'll Need:

2 tbs butter

1 sourdough boule 

6 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups crushed roasted pecans

1/4 c white sugar
1/4 c brown sugar
1 1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. Butter a 9x9 baking dish well. I actually used a 9 inch pie pan because it's beautiful and I felt like it. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. Get rid of the ends of the boule that are completely crust, those won’t absorb any of the egg mixture or sugar and would be tough to eat. Hopefully your sourdough boule is pre-sliced, but if not, slice the bread in almost one-inch thick slices. Take a couple slices at a time, and cut into approximately one inch squares. I used about 3/4 of my sourdough loaf. Cut enough to fill your baking dish. For my pie pan, I ended up cutting eight cups of almost one inch sourdough squares. That should be the same amount for a regular baking dish. 

3. Whisk together 6 eggs, 2 cups of milk, and 1 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Ladle half of that mixture on to the first layer of French toast squares. Mix squares around to make sure they’re all coated well. Place the mixture in the refrigerator, you will use the rest later. 

4. Evenly sprinkle 1/2 cup of the crushed salted roasted pecans over the first layer. 

5. Mix together 1/4 cup of brown sugar and 1/4 cup of white sugar and evenly sprinkle half of the sugar mixture on top of the pecans. Layer the last of the sourdough squares on top. Pour the egg mixture over the top again, use your own judgement as to whether you need the rest of it, or only a little more. I used the rest of the mixture. Sprinkle the rest of the sugar mixture over the top, and then finish with the rest of the pecans. 

6. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes

Serve the french toast warm. You could serve "plain" (there's plenty of flavor- and by flavor I mean sugar 😉), or with maple syrup, OR my favorite thing to pair with french toast bake is berries. Either on top or on the side. I hope y'all love this as much as my fam did growing up!

Thank you for reading!

  

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