After reading WAY TOO MANY reviews, here is what I did and it came out PERFECT!!! 6 eggs, 2 cups half and half (no milk), 2 tsp vanilla and 1/4 tsp of cinnamon, soaked overnight, let sit out while oven preheated and turned each piece over, baked covered with foil for 20 minutes, poured sauce over the top and baked uncovered for the remaining 20 minutes. FANTASTIC!!! Kids and grown-ups ate it all up. Served with fresh melon. This will be our new Christmas morning breakfast!!!
I wanted to make this for guest over the weekend but was a litle put off by all the mixed reviews.
I decided to vary the recipe with a combination of reviewers ideas. Here's what I did to achieve a great recipe that my guests really enjoyed.
Used only 6 eggs, 1 1/4 cups of milk and 1 cup of cream. Used a larger dish. Let rest overnight and turned the bread over after a couple of hours. Baked in the oven and when the top had gone a crunchy brown (not too dark) I removed and turned all the bread over and popped back in for about 15 minutes. This then allowed the egg mixture to puff up in the oven and dry out slightly.
We didn't find this soggy at all and my guests requested the recipe. Hubby wants me to make this again, so I guess that says it all.
I've made this for years...tips - 3/4 cup milk, 3/4 cup half & half, 7 eggs...I always cut the slices almost 2" thick...I put 14 slices in the 9x13 pan...When cooking this - I cook for half the time and then turn each piece over - comes out Great and seems to eliminate the "extra soggy" center....
Before making this dish, I read the reviews... Wished I hadn't! The dish is fine the way it is, and I would have enjoyed the taste better, not wondering what it would have been like if I used less liquid. This is a casserole dish, more like bread pudding is accurate, not like traditional french toast. You have to squeeze the bread in the 9x13 dish... but can be done eazily. My suggestion to you is to try it the way it is intented... then try it other ways too. Make sure that your oven is giving you an accurate temp., as you will under cook if not. This is a good base recipe... I find that you can make this recipe fit you needs for taste, which is why I gave it 5 stars. If you like less liquid you can do it, less sweet can be done too. This is a recipe that you can make yours! But keep in mind that if you are reading the reviews, you may be disappointed with the intial taste... Serve it to someone that hasn't read the reviews and see what they have to say. Thanks Laura for sharing!
This was delicious, but mainly because I made the modifications made by other reviewers. I did 6 eggs and 1 c. milk and 1 c. half and half. I also added a lot more cinnamon, just my personal pref. In order to get my bread just right, I sliced it and then put it in the oven at 200 to dry it out a bit, flipping once while in there. I think that helped a lot, as would slicing it and letting it get stale on its own. I then cut each thick slice of French bread into 4 pieces.
In the morning, I flipped all the pieces about 2-3 hours before it went into the oven. There were a few pieces of bread that were dry (maybe b/c I used a little more bread than called for by accident), so I did up a little more of the egg and cream mixture and just drenched the dry ones. I put it in the oven covered for about 25 minutes and then removed the foil and poured the caramel mixture over (used maple syrup instead of corn syrup which gave it great flavor).
This was for a brunch for about 15 ladies and it was a hit! Many requested the recipe. I found the texture was perfect, crispy on top, but not hard. Yet still moist. The flavor was great, not too sweet as others had said. I really labored over all the previous reviews because so many had issues w/ it being soggy, but I will for sure make this again with the changes.
(I did double this recipe and serve in a chafing dish, and it held up really well to being kept warm for about 2-3 hours. And it smelled delicious all the while).
I love this recipe!! I've made it 5 times in the last 2 months and every time I serve it it's a big hit! I do only use 6 eggs and 1 cup of milk though otherwise it's too mushy in the middle. Make sure and slice your bread AT LEAST 1" thick -- even a little thicker than 1" is best so that the liquid can be absorbed into the bread rather than staying on the bottom of the dish. Definitely sprinkle w/ toasted pecans! Very yummy!
(I'm shouting here)YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE TO READ REVIEWS TO FIX A RECIPE!!!!! I thought, being this recipe had over 230 reviews and rated 4 star average that I would be just fine! It ruined my Christmas breakfast!! Usually reviews give you ideas on enhancing, not fixing. Next time, I'll be more careful. This was soggy and looked like the eggs you pass up on the buffets! The top tasted great, but the bottom looked so bad, I couldn't eat it. I will search for another recipe next year.
You cannot try any recipe on this site without first READING THE REVIEWS. Others that have tried it will give you tips to make it better. This recipe is GREAT but you have to reduce the liquids or it will be mush. When the liquid is reduced it come out PERFECT.DO NOT PASS THIS ONE UP!!!!!
This is an awesome recipe!! I made this for my sunday school class and everyone just loved it. I think it's important to use very dense or day old french bread not fresh. I sliced the bread in one inch slices. I took heed from the other reviewers and instead of pouring the mixture over the bread sliced in the pan, I dipped them and placed in the pan. I took the excess liquid and spooned in into the center of each slice and covered and left in the fridge overnight. I cooked the next morning until the pieces were lightly browned on top and had no problem with mushy bread, the toast was firm and delicious. I will definitely make again...thanks for a wonderful recipe!! :)
