French Toast Sticks

Your favorite brunch restaurant might have just lost another customer with these gorgeously caramelized, beautifully browned French toast sticks. The sheet pan is the hero of this recipe: it acts as an extra large skillet, cooking all the French toast at once instead of in multiple batches on the stove. Preheating the pan in the oven first and melting butter right on the surface ensures every stick gets perfectly cooked and golden. Another brilliant trick? Coating the egg-dipped bread in cinnamon sugar before baking to caramelize and crisp the outsides (it tastes as incredibly delicious as it sounds). Treat your family to this on the weekend for brunch or make ahead and reheat as a quick breakfast idea for kids during the school week—maple syrup, optional!   

Can you use any bread for French toast sticks?

If you're wondering what's the best bread for French toast, know this: dense brioche bread is perfect for absorbing the custard mixture, though you won't want to let it soak as the bread could fall apart. You can also use another dense bread like challah. Skip less-sturdy sandwich breads for this recipe. 

What's the difference between brioche and challah?

The big difference between these two breads is butter. In a brioche, butter is slowly added to the dough until it is extra rich. Challah skips the added butter.  

Can I skip preheating the sheet pan for French toast sticks?

Letting the pan heat up first jumpstarts the crisping on the French toast; it does the same for roasted veggies and toasted bread cubes. The French toast sticks might not brown as evenly without this step.