The Best Bread To Use When Making French Toast

One could argue that one of the biggest mistakes when hosting a brunch is using the wrong type of bread to make your French toast. Using a convenient loaf of pre-sliced sandwich bread all too often leaves you with an unimpressively thin, soggy rendition of dessert-like breakfast fare. Still, with so many options to choose from, it can be challenging to find the perfect foundation for the dish. To figure out which carbs work best, we reached out to a professional who understands the importance of making French toast compelling.

Alex Abreu is an executive chef at YOTEL Boston's Vela Seaport and Deck 12, and he is no stranger to serving hungry brunch enthusiasts exquisite eggy bread. Abreu emphasized the significance of using a type of bread that maintains its structural integrity after it's been dipped into the flavorful cinnamon-laden egg mixture that makes the French toast appealing. He said, "My favorite bread to use when making French Toast is brioche because of its ability to hold the liquid that you'll be dipping it in."

The base used for pain perdu — as they call the dish in France — should be sturdy with a uniform crumb. Brioche more than hits that mark. It has a sweet buttery flavor that complements the cinnamon in the egg mixture, and while it is sturdy enough to hold the batter, it also retains an enjoyably soft bite even after it's been toasted. However, despite the qualities that make brioche a superior carb for French toast, it is not the only kind of bread Abreu would ever use.

Despite recommending brioche as a go-to option for poor knights' pudding (another delightful term for the dish), Abreu makes French toast at Vela Seaport using challah bread. Like brioche, challah is a soft, egg-based bread that soaks up as much of the savory batter as it can hold. The braided design also adds some appeal, so long as you can keep the challah bread's braids from falling apart in the oven. 

Folks who eschew gluten often have to forgo French toast, but that doesn't need to be the case, either. "There are GF options and they do work well," said Abreu. "However, it's sometimes hard to find a GF bread that is not dense and it does create a bit of an issue with the amount of wash that absorbs." Most supermarkets like Aldi have gluten-free bread options available, but you might have to be extra picky about the texture — look for something sturdy, but with enough room to soak up that egg mix. If you do that, you can experience the bliss of a heavenly French toast at your next brunch with the rest of the crowd.