This recipe for Sourdough French Toast is perfect for using up any leftover, stale sourdough. You can make this for breakfast, brunch or dessert, it's up to you!
Sweet or Savoury French Toast
I grew up enjoying savoury french toast, also known as eggy bread, which was basically the same as the sweet version, except salt and pepper was used instead of vanilla and cinnamon.
Sweet or American style french toast is a fairly new addition to our weekend breakfasts. And honestly, I love it! It's a bit of a treat, so we tend to have it at the weekend or for a special occasion breakfast, like Valentine's Day!
Why This Recipe Works
- Sourdough - sourdough bread is a sturdier bread, you can slice it nice and thick which is perfect for French Toast. It's also slightly healthier than regular sliced bread.
- Less Sugar - most recipes call for adding sugar to the eggs, I prefer to use less sugar. You can control how much you want to add when you add toppings like maple syrup or powdered sugar.
- It's super simple - no fancy ingredients and you have a tasty indulgent breakfast!
- Great for using up stale sourdough - I hate wasting food, stale sourdough can be really dry so this is perfect for using up stale sourdough.
What You'll Need
- Stale Sourdough - two-day or three-day-old sourdough is perfect for this.
- Eggs - four free-range eggs are perfect for making enough for 4 people.
- Milk and cream - to make this french toast nice and rich I add full-fat milk and a little double/heavy cream
- Spices - cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla are perfect for this dish
- Butter - this really is the best thing to cook your French toast in!
How To Make French Toast Using Sourdough
- Prepare the batter. Whisk together the eggs, milk, cream and spices.
- Soak the bread. Pour the egg mixture into a casserole dish then add slices of sourdough. Leave the bread in the egg mixture for a little while to soak up the egg mixture then turn the slices over to repeat.
- Cook the bread. Cook the eggy bread in butter until golden brown. Do this in batches and keep them warm in the oven until they are all cooked.
Tips For Making The Best French Toast
- This recipe calls for stale sourdough. Bread that is 2 or 3 days old is perfect!
- Slice the bread nice and thick. I cut my bread roughly 2.5cm/1 inch thick.
- Leave it to soak. This sourdough will need more of a soak than regular bread because it's thicker.
- Use real butter. Cook the eggy bread in butter to get the gorgeous golden brown colour! I always use real butter, the salted Irish kind!
- Always check stale bread. Always check for mould, if you see any mould at all do not use it!
- Keep them warm in the oven. I can get about 2 -3 slices of bread on my skillet, depending on the size of your skillet you will have to cook these in batches. So I keep them warm in the oven until they are all cooked and I'm ready to serve them. Place the cooked toast on a baking tray in a warm oven. 90C/195F should keep them warm.
How To Serve French Toast
We usually have this with some kind of fruit, fresh blueberries and strawberries are perfect. Sliced banana and raspberries are great too. We always serve this with a generous drizzle of maple syrup or honey. If we have this for dessert then I will give the toast a light dusting of icing/powdered sugar. My daughter loves this for dessert and has it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
FAQs
Can I Freeze French Toast?
Yes, you freeze this french toast. Place the cooked and cooled toast in a single layer in a freezer bag, label, and store for up to 3 months. You can reheat them by heating them in the microwave or reheat them in the oven until piping hot.
How Can I Store Any Leftovers?
You can store any leftover cooked and cooled French toast in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1 day. Reheat it on the hob with butter.
More Breakfast Inspiration
If you are more of a savoury person then you might prefer my version of Avocado on Toast or one of my favourites, Mushrooms on Toast.
If you're more of a sweet breakfast person you might like to try these Drop Scones! They're a big favourite around here too!
Have you made this Sourdough French Toast Recipe? Rate it and leave me a comment below to let me know what you think!
Sourdough French Toast
Ingredients
- 8 slices of sourdough bread cut into thick slices
- 4 medium eggs
- 100 ml milk (½ a cup) full-fat
- 2 ½ tablespoon double cream/heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 30 g butter (2 tbsp) more if you need it
For Serving
- Maple Syrup
- Berries of your choice we love blueberries and strawberries with this.
- 1 teaspoon Icing sugar/powdered/ confectioner's sugar optional
- Butter optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 90C/195F. Have a baking tray ready.
- Add the milk, eggs, spice and cream to a large jug, Using a balloon whisk, whisk everything together. Pour the egg mixture into a casserole dish.
- Slice the sourdough into thick slices. Roughly 2.5cm/1 inch thick.Depending on the size of your casserole dish and the size of your bread, place 2 or 4 slices of bread into the egg mixture. Leave the bread to soak up the egg mixture for about 3 minutes then flip it and leave the other side to soak for another 3 minutes.While the bread is soaking heat the butter in a skillet or non-stick pan.
- Once the butter is melted add 2 slices of the soaked bread to the pan. Leave to cook until the bottom is golden, about 2 minutes. Flip the bread and cook the other side until it is golden also, it may need another 2 minutes. If the bread is getting too dark turn down the heat.
- Transfer the toast to the tray in the oven to keep warm. Cook the remaining bread, repeating soaking and cooking for each slice.
- Serve warm with maple syrup, butter, berries and a little dusting of icing sugar/ confectioners sugar.
Notes
- Bread - This recipe calls for stale sourdough. Bread that is 2 or 3 days old is perfect. Sliced into thick slices of roughly 2.5cm/1 inch thick.
- Soaking Time - As I'm using sourdough for this recipe you will need to leave the bread to soak slightly longer than you would if you were using regular sliced bread.
- Eggs - I used medium eggs for this recipe.
- Milk and Cream - I use full-fat milk and double/heavy cream for the batter which results in a rich eggy French toast.
- Butter - I use real, salted butter to cook this, it will give you the best results.
- Skillet Size - I don't like to overcrowd the pan when cooking this so I tend to do 2-3 slices of toast at a time. I recommend keeping the toast warm in a preheated oven until it is all cooked.
- Freezing and Storing - You can freeze this dish, cook the toast leave it to cool then transfer to a freezer bag, keep the toast in a single layer. Label and store for up to 3 months. You can reheat them by heating them in the microwave or reheat them in the oven until piping hot. You can store any leftover toast in the fridge for a day.
- Nutritional Information - All nutritional information is approximate and is calculated using an online nutrition tool. It is based on one serving and does not include toppings.
- Measurements - I weigh all my ingredients using an electric scale, all measurements are metric. Cup measurements are approximate.
Richard
I plan on making this French Toast for our men's breakfast at church this Saturday.
Looking forward to making it, and will let you know what they think.
Michelle Alston
Hi Richard, that's so lovely to hear. I hope you all enjoy it.
Daniel J Gerber
I must be doing something wrong. Usually sourdough works great with savory flavors and olive oil but with butter in the cast iron skillet, it soaked up all the butter and turned into greasy rubber bread.
Michelle Alston
Hi Daniel, I'm so sorry it turned out that way for you. I've made this many times and that has never happened. A lot of people have made this and told me it works great for them. I wonder did you soak the bread in the eggs for long enough? Did you melt the butter in the skillet before you added the bread? Maybe the skillet wasn't hot enough?
Adriana
My husband is a sourdough junky he loves that bread. Now I know what to do if there is leftovers. Your idea for sourdough french toast is so yummy!
Michelle Alston
Oh thank you so much Adriana, I hope your husband enjoys it 🙂
Mirlene
This toast looks absolutley amazing. I guess it can easily make anyone's day if served early in the morning. Can't wait!
Michelle Alston
Thank you so much Mirlene! It definitely makes my day, I hope you enjoy it x
Andrea Metlika
This french toast looks fantastic! I really like the idea of using sourdough to soak up all the egg and make these delicious.
Michelle Alston
Thanks so much Andrea x
Katie
Made this for the family and it was a hit!
Michelle Alston
Thanks Katie, I'm glad it went down so well x
Alison
This french toast is delicious! It's moist and soft on the inside, and has a beautiful golden crust.
Michelle Alston
Thank you so much Alison! I'm so glad you enjoyed it.