Thick slices of brioche bread dipped into a delicious honey and vanilla custard then cooked low and slow until crisp perfection is what makes this the best brioche French toast. This brioche French toast recipe is delicious, easy to make and great for all occasions. It really is the perfect breakfast and everyone will love it.
Why you will love this recipe
This brioche French toast is such an easy way to make a special breakfast and there are very few ingredients needed to make it. My favorite custard for French toast is a custard made with honey and that is what I have used here.
The sweetness from the honey and flavor from the vanilla in the egg mixture really elevate this French toast recipe.
Using brioche bread for French toast is the perfect way to make a special breakfast and it easy and ready in the same amount of time as regular French toast but it tastes much better.
I love making this recipe for a special Sunday breakfast, Christmas brunch (or any brunch) or when we are celebrating a special occasion. This easy breakfast proves that you can have a special meal that is not complicated and tastes amazing.
Is brioche bread good for French toast
If you are not familiar with brioche, it is an enriched french bread with eggs and butter in the dough. It is part pastry and part bread.
It also happens to make the best French toast. So if you ever wondering what to do with brioche bread, this French toast recipe is perfect!
It is the traditional bread the French use to make their Pain Perdu which is usually served as a dessert. Because brioche is made with eggs and a little richer than regular bread it makes a great dessert and a breakfast.
Also, brioche is an enriched bread, it is extra rich and makes French toast taste so amazing. Brioche really elevates the richness of French toast beautifully.
Ingredients Needed
- Brioche Bread
- Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- Honey
- Butter (for cooking the French toast)
- Whole Milk. Making French toast is not the time for low fat milk. Try to use only whole milk for this recipe.
- Kosher salt
The ingredients are very simple. Nothing different than regular French toast except that you are using brioche bread instead of regular bread.
Here is what my brioche looked like before I sliced it up and cooked it.
The brioche custard (egg mixture) for this brioche French toast recipe has honey and vanilla added and is very easy to make. The addition of honey adds sweetness and an occasional pocket of honey on the cooked french toast!
Getting a piece of French toast with that pocket of honey crusted on is my favorite part. The vanilla in the French toast adds that extra bit of flavor that pairs so well with the honey.
Do make sure all of your honey is used up from the custard mixture. It will want to stay behind so you need to help it along!
How To Make Brioche French Toast
- Make the custard for the French toast: Whisk egg, milk, vanilla and honey together in a bowl.
- Slice up your brioche: The brioche should be cut into 1 inch slices.
- Dip Brioche bread into egg mixture: I like to dip both sides.
- Lift brioche out of egg mixture: You want to let the excess egg mixture drain off.
- Cook the brioche: for about 4 minutes on the first side and 3-4 minutes on the other side or until it is nice and golden brown.
Remember that when cooking French toast, you want to do it on a lower heat than you would cooking pancakes. If your French toast doesn't seem quite golden brown enough after 3-4 minutes of cooking over medium to medium low heat then just keep cooking it until it does.
All stoves vary as do pans. For the Best brioche French toast, you are looking for a lightly golden brown outside that does not look wet anymore and is crisp.
By being patient when cooking your French toast, the texture of the outside will be nice and golden brown and the inside will be soft but cooked all the way through.
When both sides of the Brioche French toast look like this, it is done cooking.
French Toast Toppings
- Any type of fresh berries
- Powdered sugar
- More honey
- My easy blueberry sauce makes a great addition if you are a blueberry lover. It is really easy and delicious.
- Fresh berry sauce or blackberry puree
- Homemade berry preserves or homemade nectarine jam
- Easy Vanilla dessert sauce
- Whipped Cream
- Honey Simple Syrup
- Or your favorite topping!
If you want to make French toast at home that tastes like the restaurants or you are looking for a special breakfast or a way to impress someone then you should give this recipe a try.
It is amazing! You can also make this easy French toast just because and no special occasion is necessary.
How to keep French toast warm
We all know that when making French toast, it is a process of making them in batches, often going straight from the skillet on to someone's plate to eat right away. I love placing the brioche in the oven to keep it warm so everyone can eat at the same time.
- Warm your oven to 170 degrees.
- Place an oven safe cooling rack on top of a large baking sheet and place in your warmed oven. This will warm the cooling rack itself.
- With each batch of French toast that you make, once they are done cooking on the stovetop, transfer them to the oven to sit on the cooling rack to keep the brioche French toast warm. That cooling rack prevents condensation from forming under the French toast (when the heat has nowhere to go).
- Do this until all of your french toast is made.
- I will bring the entire sheet pan with the cooling rack tot he table and serve it that way (like in the pictures above).
- You can also add them to a nice platter for serving.
Where to Find Brioche Bread
You can usually find brioche in the bakery section of your grocery store. I have good luck at my local grocery store, Trader Joes and Whole Foods.
If you can't find it in your local store then Challah bread is a good substitute for Brioche bread (challah bread looks like it was braided together).
Challah is almost identical to brioche except it does not have butter in the dough. Either is fine!
You can also make your own brioche which is a really fun project! There is a really easy brioche recipe from Elle Jay at home that makes it really simple and walks you through all of the steps!
Do you use stale bread for brioche French toast
Normally when making French toast, stale bread is often preferred since it soaks up the custard easily. Also because French toast was used as a way to use up stale bread.
For this French toast recipe, you can use either stale brioche bread or fresh brioche. It comes out amazing both ways.
The key to making the best French toast is making sure to cook it low and slow and that it is cooked all the way through. So if you do decide on stale bread for this recipe, you may need to add a minute or two to the cooking time.
For more breakfast recipes
- Yeast Belgium Waffles
- Prosciutto and Asparagus Fried Egg Toast
- Baked French Toast Casserole
- Herb Baked Eggs
- Vanilla Scones
- Blueberry Yogurt Scones
- Apple Pie Streusel Scones
- Fluffy Yogurt Biscuits
- Pumpkin Breakfast Cookies
- Ricotta Pancakes
Faqs
I prevent my brioche French toast from getting soggy by doing two things. First I slice the brioche into thicker slices. The second thing I do is count to 2 seconds when I dip each side of the French toast in the custard. This makes sure the bread does not sit too long and absorb too much liquid.
To make a crisp on the outside French toast, you need to cook it low and slow. By cooking the French toast on a medium low setting on the stovetop, you allow the heat time to cook the French toast all the way through. French toast should take a little longer to cook than pancakes for reference.
Brioche does not need to be stale for French toast but it does come out much better if the brioche is a day or two old. If you know you are going to be making brioche French toast, just plan on buying your bread a couple days ahead of time if you can.
Brioche, Challah, baguette bread and thick sliced sour dough bread are some of my favorites for French toast.
The Best Brioche French Toast
Tried the Recipe? We Would Love To Hear From You In The Comments Below!
Ingredients
- 1 loaf of bricohe bread or challah
- 4 eggs
- ¼ cup milk
- ¼ cup honey plus more for drizzling over French toast
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- a pinch of kosher salt
- fresh berries for topping optional
- honey or warmed maple syrup for topping
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add your eggs, honey, milk, vanilla and salt and mix well until the honey is no longer clumpy.4 eggs, ¼ cup milk, ¼ cup honey, 1 teaspoon vanilla, a pinch of kosher salt
- Next, slice up your brioche into 1 inch slices.1 loaf of bricohe bread
- Now, preheat a large heavy bottom skillet or griddle on medium low heat. Remember, French Toast is cooked low and slow. Be patient!
- Once it is pre-heated, add your butter and let it fully melt.
- Now take a brioche slice and place into your custard mixture gently pressing down until it is completely submerged. Now take it out flip it over and submerge it again in the custard until you don't see any bubbles coming up (for about 2 seconds).
- Lift your brioche slice out of the custard making sure to let the excess custard drip off and then place in your pan. Continue to add brioche into your pan until you can't add anymore (usually 3-4 slices depending on the size of your pan). Cook the brioche for about 4 minutes on the first side and then flip.
- Cook for a remaining 3-4 minutes on the other side or until it is nice and golden in color.
- Continue the steps above until all of the brioche is cooked. TIP: To keep your cooked brioche warm while you are cooking the remainder of the French toast, see notes above on how to keep it warm in the oven.
- Once all of your French toast is cooked, add to a plate and while still hot drizzle a little honey or maple syrup over the French Toast.
- Optional: top with your favorite toppings (butter, fresh berries, powdered sugar, ...)fresh berries for topping, honey or warmed maple syrup for topping
- Enjoy
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition Values are estimates only.
See full nutrition disclaimer here
Elizabeth says
Made this yesterday and it was very good. Easy too!
Melissa says
So glad you enjoyed it Elizabeth!
Beth says
Made this over the weekend and it was a hit! Really delicious
Melissa says
I am so glad to hear that!
Gina says
This brioche French toast was so easy and very tasty
Jennifer says
We made this brioche French toast yesterday and it was a hit! So good
Jenny says
We made this brioche French toast over the weekend and it was really delicious!
Melissa says
I am so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Fiona says
I made this over the weekend and everyone loved it!
Melissa says
This looks wonderful!
Laura Scalone says
I've got a recipe for honey brioche, and this is the perfect recipe to turn it into really great French toast! Definitely linking to this recipe in my post! Soooo yummy!
Melissa says
I have to check out your recipe! It sounds amazing 🙂
Siri says
The toasts are looking incredibly good!
Keeping It Simple says
Thanks so much!