French Toast Casserole a la Mama Lion
This morning, while looking for something to feed the littles, I found a VERY stale loaf of french bread courteously left for us by a weekend guest! I was planning to slice it up and do french toast but it practically crumbled under the knife. Pulverizing it and bagging it up for bread crumbs was an option, but I'd had my heart set on french toast, so I did what I usually do in these situations. Google it! A few online recipes and personal adjustments later and VOILA! French Toast Casserole. The smell wafting through the house was intoxicating. Add fresh strawberries from our Tara Firma Farms CSA box and a drizzle of maple syrup and it vanished like a ninja at midnight.
Now, one of the key differences here for me is that most of the recipes I found call for bread cubes. They say nothing about the moisture content of the bread. Personally, I like my bread to be as dry as possible for french toast so that it can soak up lots of the egg/milk mixture. My mom does it this way, I do it this way, it works. This loaf had been sitting on the counter in an open bag for two days and it was on the verge of rock hard. If you don't have a loaf like that you can try to dry it out in the oven as though you were making croutons OR when you do have a loaf sitting around getting stale but you don't have time to cook, cube it up and freeze it for later.
I wish I'd taken pictures of the steps, but the finished product will have to be good enough!
French Toast Casserole a la Mama Lion
Ingredients:
Now, one of the key differences here for me is that most of the recipes I found call for bread cubes. They say nothing about the moisture content of the bread. Personally, I like my bread to be as dry as possible for french toast so that it can soak up lots of the egg/milk mixture. My mom does it this way, I do it this way, it works. This loaf had been sitting on the counter in an open bag for two days and it was on the verge of rock hard. If you don't have a loaf like that you can try to dry it out in the oven as though you were making croutons OR when you do have a loaf sitting around getting stale but you don't have time to cook, cube it up and freeze it for later.
I wish I'd taken pictures of the steps, but the finished product will have to be good enough!
French Toast Casserole a la Mama Lion
Ingredients:
5 cups bread cubes
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
4 tablespoons sugar (I used maple sugar), divided
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon butter, softened
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly butter an 8x8 inch baking pan.
2. In a medium bowl, beat together
eggs, milk, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Mix the bread cubes into the egg mixture so they are completely covered; let stand for 10 minutes.
3. Pour the egg/bread cube mixture into the buttered dish and dot the top with the remaining butter. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon and
sprinkle over the top. Bake in preheated oven about 45 to 50 minutes,
until top is golden.
4. Let cool out of the oven for about 10-15 minutes and enjoy!
This is amazingly delicious. Next time I might cover the dish with foil for the first 10 minutes and cook for an hour total. This would prevent over-browning while letting the dish cook a little longer to avoid mushiness.
Still, a total winner.
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| The moment of flavor recognition... |
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| NOM NOM NOM |
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