Overnight French Toast Bake

Ingredients

• 1 lb / 450 g Sturdy bread, such as challah or brioche, slightly stale, cut in 1-inch cubes
• 6 Large eggs
• 1½ cups Whole milk
• ½ cup Heavy cream, or more milk
• ⅓ cup, plus ¼ cup for the crumb Brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp Maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp Vanilla extract
• 1½ tsp, plus ½ tsp for the crumb Ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp Ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp Kosher salt
• ¼ cup All-purpose flour
• 3 Tbsp Cold unsalted butter, cubed

Method

1. Butter a 9-by-13-inch dish. If the loaf is fresh, heat the oven to 300°F / 150°C, spread the cubes on a sheet pan for 15 minutes, then turn the oven off. Fresh bread turns to mush in the custard. Add the cubes to the dish.
2. Whisk the eggs, milk, cream, ⅓ cup brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, 1½ tsp cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Pour it over the bread. Press the cubes down so they all get wet. Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours, or overnight.
3. In the morning, heat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Stir the flour, remaining ¼ cup brown sugar, and ½ tsp cinnamon. Rub in the cold butter until you have clumps. Sprinkle that over the soaked bread.
4. Bake 40–45 minutes, until the top is golden and the center is set, not wet. Rest 10 minutes. Serve with more maple if you want it.

Nutrition

Kitchen estimate only, not lab-verified. A sweet breakfast bake. Bread, sugar, and how much syrup you add move the numbers.

Guest diet / allergy swaps

Short kitchen notes for guests. A fuller gluten-free or dairy-free ingredient list, when we have one, is in the panels below.

• Low-sodium friendly

  Skip the ¼ tsp salt. Bread and salted butter, if you use it, still have some. This is a sweet dish, not a salty one.

• Gluten-free style

  Use a sturdy gluten-free bread and a cup-for-cup gluten-free flour in the crumb. The soak time may be shorter. Check it so the cubes do not fall apart.

• Dairy-free

  Use an unsweetened plant milk in place of both the milk and the cream, and a dairy-free butter in the crumb and on the dish. The custard will taste lighter.

  • United States: Plant milk for the milk and the cream, and dairy-free butter in the crumb. The bread is still wheat.
  • United Kingdom: Use unsweetened plant drink and a dairy-free baking spread. This does not change the loaf.

• No pork

  There is no meat in this bake. A side of sausage is a separate choice.

• No egg

  The eggs are the custard. This recipe does not work without them.

• Lower sugar

  Leave the crumb off and use 2 Tbsp brown sugar in the custard. It will taste more like plain baked bread and less like a holiday pan.