Overnight Baked French Toast

One of my favorite breakfast foods of all time is French toast. My father used to make it for me as a little girl. Nothing made me happier than to wander upstairs on a Saturday morning to find him at the stove, flipping toast while the scent of cinnamon wafted through the air. 

My dad’s French toast was typically wheat sandwich bread (or whatever bread we had on hand) but he always added a little bit of vanilla to the batter and lots of butter in the pan, serving up perfectly golden brown slices of bread. He would cut the bread at a diagonal and dust each plate with powdered sugar. 

My brothers and I would easily eat an entire loaf of bread in one breakfast and still beg for more. These days my children often request French toast when they visit their grandparent’s house, clamoring for the best seat at the kitchen island to watch breakfast being made.

Last week, after a five-gallon ziplock bag full of frozen blueberries fell out of my over-stuffed freezer and onto my foot yet again, I put out a request on social media. What should I make with blueberries? I needed some new ideas and a quick way to unload a few of the blueberries crowding my freezer. I got lots of great recommendations including a pork tenderloin with blueberry glaze, blueberry lemon cake and blueberry sauce for pancakes, waffles or even ice cream.

Memories of my father’s French toast and the recommendation of warm blueberry sauce sparked an idea for baked French toast. Instead of flipping individual slices of bread, I tore a loaf of sourdough bread into pieces and combined it with big handfuls of sweet tart blueberries. I made a decadent egg and cream mixture, adding vanilla and a hint of orange zest  for lots of flavor and poured it over the bread and blueberries. I wanted this dish to take on the qualities of bread pudding so I put the dish in the refrigerator overnight to let the bread soak and absorb the flavors. In the morning I baked it until golden brown with crisp bites on top and a pillowy soft interior. A dusting of powdered sugar and a small drizzle of maple syrup made for a perfect breakfast and a recipe I’ll be going back to over and over again.

Blueberry Baked French Toast

• Loaf of day-old sourdough bread cubed

• 1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries

• 1 tablespoon softened butter

• 4 eggs

• 4 cups half and half

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon orange zest

• Pinch of salt

• 1 tablespoon raw sugar (optional)

• Powdered sugar

• Maple syrup

Liberally butter a 9x12 baking dish. Set aside. In a medium bowl combine eggs, half and half, vanilla and orange zest. Whisk briskly until well-combined, about two minutes. 

Gently combine cubed bread and blueberries in baking dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon and stir once more.

Pour egg mixture over the cubed bread, making sure the bread is evenly coated. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

To bake the French toast:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake French toast for 40 minutes with the pan still covered in foil. Remove foil, sprinkle with tablespoon of raw sugar and bake for 10 more minutes. Take French toast our of the oven and allow to cool slightly. Sprinkle individual servings with powdered sugar and a drizzle of maple syrup. Serves 8 portions.