Brunch & Breakfast BRUNCH

Overnight French Toast Bake

Name: Overnight French Toast Bake
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 400 g brioche, cubed; 4 eggs; 300 ml milk; 2 tbsp sugar; 1 tsp vanilla; 1 tsp cinnamon; 2 tbsp sugar, for top; Butter

Brioche or challah soaks the custard without collapsing; thin sandwich bread turns to porridge..

By Dana Reyes

Published 23 Sep 2026 · Tested 2 times · 0 comments

Overnight French Toast Bake — The top sets to a crackly crust while the middle stays soft.

15 min

Prep time

35 min

Cook time

Serves

4.7

NEW

Zero standing over the stove

Brioche or challah soaks the custard without collapsing; thin sandwich bread turns to porridge.

Assemble the night before so the bread drinks the egg overnight and bakes into a custardy middle.

We tested a cinnamon-sugar top on and off. On — it crisps into a shell that sells the whole dish.

Instructions

About 50 min from start to finish

Butter a dish; layer the brioche.

Whisk the eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla; pour over and press in.

Cover and chill overnight, or at least 1 hour.

Heat the oven to 180°C / 350°F; scatter cinnamon sugar on top.

Bake 30-35 minutes until puffed and golden.

Testing notes & substitutions

Three rounds of testing turned up three things worth knowing before you start cooking.

No brioche

Stale challah or even croissants work; avoid fresh soft white.

Saucier

Add a little cream to the custard for a richer middle.

Questions we get a lot

Prep fully ahead?

Yes, up to a day; bake straight from the fridge, add 5 minutes.

Serve it how?

Maple and berries; a squeeze of lemon cuts the sweet.

Dana Reyes

Dana has cooked professionally for eleven years and has been testing recipes for Hearth & Thyme since 2019. She writes about weeknight cooking, slow breads, and the small techniques that quietly change a dish. Every recipe she publishes is cooked at least twice, in an ordinary home oven.