Baked French Toast

There are a ton of variations on baked french toast out there, but I was inspired by Sam's version because of its decorative design, and the addition of fruit. I love fruit with my french toast, and normally just throw some on the plate before serving. So, I was excited to see how the fruit and french toast would bake up together. 

I love how this dish can be made the night before. I felt so accomplished when I woke up the next morning. It was like I checked something off my to-do list before i even got out of bed. 

I made some adjustments...my challah was BIG, so I doubled the eggs to six, and used heavy cream. whenever I make panfried french toast, I normally use half & half or heavy cream, so I figured it should be ok. decadent, but ok. :-)

I used a 10" round baking dish with 1.5" sides. You can use whatever shape dish or pan you have on hand, but the key is that the sides are at least 1.5" high to contain the liquid. 2" would be even better. But to be safe, you could place the baking dish on a baking sheet to catch any overflow. i didn't have any overflow, but it's better to be safe than sorry... no fun cleaning the oven... so use the pan. :-) 

​If you use another shape dish/pan, simply adjust the arrangement accordingly. Any extra slices can be baked in a separate dish, or panfried. Maybe you'll come up with an even cooler design! I had so much fun creating and constructing this. I felt like a sculptor, because the challah is very malleable once it’s coated in the egg mixture. 

People, I couldn't wait to snap the final pic so I could dig in. The fresh-baked aroma was driving me absolutely wild.
a drizzle of maple syrup, a dusting of powdered sugar and wowwww. This is like a pillowy heaven of lusciousness. 

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the egg-coated slices arranged in the baking dish, placed on a baking sheet just in case there's overflow.

insert the fruit in any artful arrangement you like

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 6 eggs
• 1.5 cups half & half or heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 1 large loaf of challah, sliced 3/4-1" thick
• fruit of choice, sliced thinly
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar for sprinkling
• ​2 tbsp apricot jam (optional)

METHOD

1. The night before, coat bottom and sides of a 10" round baking dish (or something similar) with butter. (see details above)
2. In a large bowl, whisk together half & half (or cream), eggs, vanilla and salt.
3. Dip challah slices in the egg mixture, making sure to completely coat. 
4. arrange slices partially overlapping in the dish until full. To create this design, i used the largest slices around the perimeter, and for the center, i used the smaller end slices.
5. Pour remainder of egg mixture over challah slices.
6. Cover with plastic and refrigerate overnight.
7. the next morning, preheat oven to 350ºF.
8. spoon liquid from bottom of dish over challah to baste it, being careful not to tear bread.
9. Add sliced fruit. Sprinkle top with granulated sugar.
10. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until golden.
11. While hot, you could glaze fruit with warmed apricot jam...not necessary, but the shiny effect sure is pretty.
12. Serve with maple syrup and/or a dusting of powdered sugar. 
13. Enjoy!