How To Make Challah French Toast Sticks
Take the humble French toast to a new level by using the right kind of bread and adding a few twists on classic ingredients. On The Go Bites has made a crispy outside, custardy inside French toast and cut them into sticks so that they are the perfect portable breakfast, French toast that’s easy to eat on the go.
What Bread To Use for French Toast Makes a Difference
I’ll admit that French toast at my house is usually made when I have a loaf of bread that is in need of being used or else fall to the fate of becoming stale. Just whip some eggs and milk, cook the French toast and you have breakfast. But what if I put more effort into making this staple breakfast so that it tastes like a gourmet chef made it. Imagine eating gourmet French toast as you sit in traffic on the way to work. So how can you do this?
Start with the bread. The key is to use delicious, thick cut bread that has dried a bit. Most grocery stores have a bakery with freshly baked Challah bread, an egg yeast dough. You can also find packaged loaves of Texas Toast (thick white bread slices, you will find Texas Toast among the other loaves of packaged bread) that makes a great substitute for Challah in French Toast Sticks. If you are lucky enough to live near a Publix you can buy one of their bakery breads and have it sliced 1” thick, Publix bakery has surprisingly delicious bread. Of course if you have access to classic Brioche bread, by all means use it, both Challah and Brioche make great buttery tasting French toast sticks. I’ve used regular ¼” thick sandwich bread which works fine but they tend to flop a bit when you eat them, so go with the thick slices if you are able and will be eating the French toast sticks on the go.
Another optional step, but highly recommended, is to place the slices of bread on a wire rack on a baking sheet and toast in a 275 degree oven for 15 minutes, flipping half way in between. This way the bread will dry out and absorb the milk mixture while keeping the breads integrity, making the French toast sticks easier to eat without a fork.
If you end up using regular sandwich bread then definitely dry the bread in the oven to make the French Toast Sticks stronger. Then bake the French toast and cut into sticks after they are already cooked. This way you’ll have a firmer toast that won’t flop when you try to eat it.
Hints: Bring your ingredients to room temperature so that the cooled melted butter doesn’t start to solidify when added to the other ingredients. You will also want to preheat your griddle or pan so that the egg starts to cook right away when the French toast hits the pan.
Add a yogurt maple syrup dip and you are good to go.
French Toast Sticks Made With Regular Sandwich Bread
As always we will give you freezing directions at the end of the recipe so that this French Toast Stick recipe can be reheated in a few minutes and you can be out the door in minutes.
Challah French Toast Sticks
Take time to think about what kind of bread you want to use, the thicker and richer the bread the tastier the French toast sticks
Ingredients
French Toast Sticks
- 1 Loaf Challah Bread Brioche, Texas Toast or sandwich bread
- 4 Large Egg Yolks feel free to use the whole egg if you like
- 1 1/3 Cup Whole Milk or use reduced fat milk or up it with Half & Half
- 1/4 Cup Maple Syrup or substitute powdered sugar
- 2 Teaspoons Vanilla
- 2 Pinches Kosher Salt
- 3 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter Melted plus a bit more for the pan
Dipping Sauce
- 3/4 Cup Vanilla Greek Yogurt
- 1/4 Cup Maple Syrup
Instructions
Make French Toast Sticks
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If using thick cut bread then cut into 1” X 1” X 5” sticks, if using sandwich bread that is only about ½” thick then keep the slices whole and cut into sticks after drying the bread in the oven. Drying the bread is an optional step, it helps the bread soak up the custard without losing the integrity of the bead. Leave sticks/slices to air dry on your countertop for a couple of hours OR the preferable method is to bake bread on a sheet pan in a 275 degree oven for about 15 minutes, flip each stick/slice over half way through. This step will help keep the French bread sticks from flopping over when you eat them.
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Bring all ingredients to room temperature. Melt butter, then set aside to cool
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Preheat heavy pan or griddle (I use cast iron) over medium heat.
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Using a shallow, wide dish (I use a pie plate) add and whisk egg yolks, milk, maple syrup, vanilla, salt and cooled melted butter.
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In preheated pan or griddle, fry sticks/slices until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. If using the thick sliced bread you will want to fry all four sides. If using the thinner sandwich bread and you haven't dried them in the oven first, then fry the whole slices and cut into thirds once the French toast is cooked, this will help keep the integrity of the French toast sticks.
Make Dipping Sauce
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Make dipping sauce by mixing vanilla Greek yogurt and maple syrup.
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Sprinkle French toast sticks with powdered sugar and enjoy.
Recipe Notes
If you are on the go, package the dipping sauce separate from the French toast sticks so that the sticks don’t get soggy.
Freezing: Flash freeze and then bag in resealable plastic bag, freeze up to 6 months.
For reheating the French Toast Sticks from freezer use oven, toaster oven or microwave. The preferred method is the oven or toaster oven.
To reheat in an oven or toaster oven, preheat to 425 degrees. Lay the frozen French Toast Sticks in a single layer and bake for about 8-10 minutes, flipping half way through. The toaster oven may take a few more minutes.
I'm not a lover of reheating frozen bread in the microwave because it often becomes rock hard and at best chewy. If the microwave is your only choice then reheat at 15-30 second increments until the French Toast Sticks are heated through.
Making a Large Batch: If you want to make a large batch of French Toast Sticks you can streamline the cooking and save time by using the oven. Soak the slices and arrange on a parchment lined baking sheet (or buttered baking sheet) and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, if they haven’t browned then put under the broiler to get a golden outside. But beware, an un-watched broiler means burned French Toast Sticks!
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