Brunch & Breakfast MAKE-AHEAD

Overnight Baked French Toast

Name: Overnight Baked French Toast
Prep time: 2 h
Cook time: 6 h
Total time: 8 h
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 large challah or brioche loaf, about 500 g, sliced 3 cm thick; 6 large eggs; 400 ml whole milk; 150 ml double cream; 80 g soft light brown sugar; 2 tsp vanilla extract; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg; 1/4 tsp fine sea salt; 50 g unsalted butter, melted; For the topping: 60 g pecan halves, 2 tbsp demerara sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon

Fried French toast is a timing problem: the custard needs long enough to reach the centre, and a hot pan will not wait.

By Dana Reyes

Tested at least twice · Updated September 2026

Overnight Baked French Toast — Assembled the night before and baked straight from the fridge — no flipping, no standing at the hob.

120 min

Prep time

360 min

Cook time

Serves

4.9

1,176 RATINGS

The overnight soak does two jobs

Fried French toast is a timing problem: the custard needs long enough to reach the centre, and a hot pan will not wait. Baking the whole thing in one dish removes the constraint entirely and lets you soak for eight hours, which is enough for the custard to penetrate all the way through a thick slice.

It also means you can serve eight people at once, hot, without standing over a pan. For the kind of breakfast where people arrive at different times, this is the only version that actually works.

Stale bread is not a compromise here — it is required. Fresh bread dissolves into the custard and turns to pudding. Two-day-old challah or brioche holds its structure and comes out with a proper set custard and a crisp top.

Instructions

About 8 hr from start to finish

Butter a 23 x 33 cm baking dish generously and arrange the bread slices in it, overlapping them slightly so they fit snugly in a single layer.

Whisk the eggs, milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a large jug until completely combined and no egg streaks remain.

Pour the custard evenly over the bread. Press the slices down gently with your hands so each one soaks rather than floating.

Cover tightly with cling film and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, or overnight. Turn the slices once if you are up and about — it is not essential but it produces a more even result.

In the morning, heat the oven to 180°C fan and take the dish out of the fridge while it comes to temperature, about 20 minutes.

Brush the top of the bread with the melted butter. Scatter over the pecans, demerara sugar and cinnamon.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the custard is set at the centre and the top is deep golden and slightly crisp. If the nuts are catching, lay foil loosely over the dish after 25 minutes.

Rest for 10 minutes before serving, with maple syrup, thick yoghurt or crème fraîche, and fresh berries.

Testing notes & substitutions

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

Thick slices, or it collapses

Anything thinner than 2.5 cm will not survive the overnight soak. Ask the bakery to cut it, or cut it yourself with a serrated knife before it goes stale.

Cold dish, hot oven

Baking straight from the fridge is what the recipe assumes. If the dish comes to room temperature first, reduce the time by five minutes and check early.

The centre should wobble slightly

A fully firm centre means it is overcooked and will be dry at the edges. Pull it when a knife inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean but the dish still has a gentle tremble.

Questions we get a lot

Can I halve the recipe?

Yes — use a 20 x 20 cm dish and the same baking time, checking at 30 minutes. The custard depth is what determines timing, not the volume.

What if I do not have challah?

Any sturdy enriched bread works: brioche, panettone, or a good white bloomer left out for two days. Avoid sliced supermarket bread, which disintegrates.

Is it sweet enough without syrup?

It is on the edge. The demerara topping brings crunch and a little caramel, but the custard itself is only lightly sweetened. Most people add syrup at the table.

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.