Traditional Challah French Toast

posted by Britt Berlin on Nov 19, 2018 (last updated Mar 27, 2019) 2 comments »

Challah French toast that’s sweet, doughy, and full of cinnamon flavor! A recipe passed down for a few generations, this French toast is the perfect weekend or holiday morning start!

Want to know a secret? I didn’t make this challah French toast…GASP! Jared did! Today, I’m sharing his grandpa’s recipe that he then shared with Jared, and now Jared is sharing it with me! I have to tell you, it’s the best French toast I’ve ever tasted. Like hands down perfection, and there are a few tricks that go beyond what a recipe can share that you’ll need in order to make this out-of-this-world good, like Jared 😉

But first, let’s talk about the ingredients! So this challah bread I actually picked up while perusing our farmer’s market. I found a stand that had all homemade bread using some of the simplest ingredients I’ve ever seen- flour, eggs, butter, and brown sugar. I know what you may be thinking- BRITT, what the heck are you talking about, that’s gluten, dairy, and sugar! I.e. Enemy Number ONE! Actually, my dear friend, it’s not. Your thought pattern is 😉

I could tell that this woman loved what she did and absolutely made this bread with love and care, so I decided to support her and bought a loaf, knowing that Jared would be thrilled that I came home with something special for him!

Well, Jared was thrilled, and he immediately got to whipping up some of his famous French toast that I’ve heard about for the past 3 years that we’ve been dating! He pulled out the farmer’s market eggs, some almond milk, local maple syrup, and cinnamon, and showed me how it’s done!

First tip is really whipping the eggs. You want to essentially make them so whipped, there are tiny air bubbles. Think like you’re making scrambled eggs, and then whip them some more.

Next is using maple syrup instead of brown sugar. This really adds to the flavor of the toast and sets it apart from other recipes. The next tip is letting it really soak. You want this toast to be sopping in the mixture. Normal recipes call for letting it soak for at least 30 seconds. We say, quadruple that. Let it soak for at least 2 minutes. This ensure that the flavor has really soaked through the bread because it’s so thick!

The second to last tip is adding more cinnamon on top while it’s cooking. Sure, there’s cinnamon in the egg mixture, but sometimes it clumps and gets spread too thin throughout 3 rounds of soaking the bread. So while it’s cooking, sprinkle one side with a little extra cinnamon, flip it, and then sprinkle some more!

Now the final tip to making this challah French toast amazing, and you’ll probably laugh at me, but I truly believe it to be so- make it with love. It sounds so silly writing it out, but truly, when you’re making this French toast with love, gratitude, and care, you can truly taste it. I mean, there’s a reason why this homemade variation tastes so different than Eggo’s, let’s be honest.

So next time you’re worrying about calories, or how many grams of sugar is in here, switch to love and gratitude. It will feel a helluva lot better for you, and it will make your food taste better too 😉

Did you like this recipe?! If so, let me know by sharing it on Instagram, commenting down below, or pinning it to your recipe page on good ol’ Pinterest! Be sure to tag me @the_bananadiaries and use the hashtag #iyamlove so that I can see your beautiful creations!