The best bread for French toast is a rich, sturdy loaf cut thick: brioche, challah or a buttery croissant bread. Each one soaks up the egg custard and still holds together in the pan. Soft sandwich bread in the pain de mie style gives the classic, tender version, and sourdough gives a firmer, tangy one. Day-old bread soaks better than fresh, and the thicker the slice, the more custardy the center.
We are bakers, so here is the honest version. Brioche and challah are excellent choices, and we do not sell either of them. Below: what each one does in the pan, a comparison table, the three loaves from our bakery that we reach for, and a simple method that works with all of them.
What makes a good bread for French toast
French toast is mostly bread, so your choice decides the result. Four things matter more than the brand or the recipe.
- Texture. An enriched dough, made with butter, eggs or milk, has a tender crumb that turns custardy. A lean dough with a thick crust, like sourdough or baguette, stays chewier and needs a longer soak.
- Slice thickness. Thin slices tear when they are wet and cook through before the outside browns. For a loaf you slice yourself, most cooks go for about 3/4 inch to 1 inch.
- Fresh or stale. A slice that has dried out a little drinks the custard like a sponge and keeps its shape. A very fresh, soft one can go soggy. If yours is fresh, dry the slices in a low oven for a few minutes first.
- Absorption. A soft crumb fills up in a few seconds. A firm, open crumb needs a minute or more. Match the soak to the crumb, not to the recipe.
The best breads for French toast, type by type
Brioche
Brioche is a French dough enriched with butter and eggs. It makes the richest, softest French toast, with a deep golden color. Because it is so soft, it needs only a short dip, a few seconds per side, or it falls apart. Use it a little stale, one or two days old. Brioche loaves are not part of our online shop, so if it is your favorite, get it from a good local bakery.
Challah
Challah is a braided egg bread, usually made with oil rather than butter. Its fluffy crumb keeps its shape remarkably well when it is soaked, which is why many cooks call it the best all-around choice. Cut it about 1 inch thick. Challah is not in our shop either.
Croissant bread
Croissant bread is croissant dough baked as a loaf, then sliced. The dough is rich in butter, so it browns quickly and develops crisp, caramelized edges around a soft center. Ours is also made with whole eggs and milk, which makes it the most brioche-like of our loaves, and it is our own pick. More on it below.
Pain de mie and soft sandwich bread
Pain de mie is the French name for a soft, fine-crumbed sandwich loaf, the Pullman loaf in American bakeries. It tastes neutral and soaks up custard evenly, for the classic, diner-style version. Thin supermarket slices are the weak point: they turn limp. Choose thicker ones, or let them dry a little before soaking. Thick-cut white sandwich bread, sold as Texas toast, is the easy grocery store take on the same idea, with less flavor than an enriched dough.
Sourdough
Sourdough has a firmer crumb, a thick crust and a mild tang. It gives real structure and a flavor that stands up to syrup and fruit. Because it is firmer, it does not need to be stale, but it needs a longer soak, a minute or two per side, until the custard reaches the center. If sourdough is your pick, follow our step-by-step sourdough French toast.
Baguette and French bread
In France, French toast is called pain perdu, "lost bread," because it was a way to use up yesterday's baguette. Cut yesterday's baguette on a long diagonal, about 1 inch thick, and give it a long soak. You get small, crisp-edged pieces with a chewy bite. Working from a frozen loaf? Here is how to thaw bread before you slice it.
Bread for French toast: comparison table
| Bread | Texture in the pan | Slice | Fresh or day-old | Soak | Do we sell it? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brioche | Very soft, rich, custardy | 3/4 to 1 inch | 1 to 2 days old | A few seconds per side | No |
| Challah | Fluffy, eggy, holds its shape | About 1 inch | Day-old | Short to medium | No |
| Croissant bread | Buttery, crisp caramelized edges | Wide sliced, ready to use | Straight from the freezer, slightly thawed | Short | Yes: Butter Croissant Loaf |
| Pain de mie, sandwich bread | Soft, even, classic | Thick slices if you can | Day-old or lightly dried | Short to medium | Yes: Sandwich White |
| Sourdough | Firm, chewy, tangy | About 3/4 inch | Fresh is fine | Long, 1 to 2 min per side | Yes: Sourdough Loaf |
| Baguette | Crisp edges, chewy center | 1 inch, on the diagonal | Day-old | Long | Yes, as half baguettes |
| Texas toast | Soft, mild | Pre-cut thick | Either | Short | No |
Our pick: the Butter Croissant Loaf
If you want the richness of brioche with more crunch at the edges, this is the one we would hand you. Our Butter Croissant Loaf is croissant dough baked as a loaf and wide sliced. The dough is made with butter, whole eggs, milk and a little sugar, the same kind of enrichment that makes brioche so good in the pan. Its product page says it "toasts up sturdy and crisp with a caramelized edge," and talks about "making the best French Toast you'll ever serve." We will let you be the judge.
It comes already sliced and frozen, so there is no cutting and no waiting for it to go stale. Its product page covers toasting; for French toast, this is what we suggest:
- Take out only the slices you need and leave them on the counter for a few minutes, until they bend without cracking. The rest stays in the freezer.
- Give them a short dip in the custard. This dough is rich and soaks fast.
- Cook over medium-low heat. Butter and sugar in the dough brown quickly, and a gentle heat lets the center set before the outside gets too dark.
On regular mornings, the same slices go straight from the freezer into the toaster for 90 to 120 seconds. Watch them closely: the crumb browns fast. You will find it with the rest of our frozen croissants.
The croissant bread we use for French toast
Wide-sliced Butter Croissant Loaf, one of the packs in your box (4 to 12 packs, from $89). Toast slices from frozen in 90 to 120 seconds, or soak them for French toast.
Shop the croissant loafFor classic French toast: Sandwich White
If your family likes the soft, diner-style version, try our organic Sandwich White. It is a sliced sandwich loaf with the tender texture of a classic Pullman loaf, made with organic oat milk and sunflower oil. That is the pain de mie style many cooks recommend. Let the frozen slices sit out a few minutes before soaking, or a little longer so they dry slightly and hold more custard. In the toaster, they go from frozen in 1.5 to 2 minutes. See our other sandwich breads too.
For French toast with structure: Sourdough Loaf
Our organic Sourdough Loaf is our true best-seller, with a robust crust and a tender interior. It comes par-baked and frozen, and you finish it at home: preheat the oven to 430°F, place the frozen loaf directly on the middle rack, no baking sheet, and bake for 16 to 23 minutes. Then let it rest for at least 20 minutes before slicing, because it keeps baking as it cools.
For French toast, bake it the day before. Cut it about 3/4 inch thick the next morning and soak each piece until it is soft all the way through. The tang goes well with berries and a spoon of our wild blackberry jam. More loaves are in our par-baked breads collection.
A simple French toast recipe for any loaf
This is a general home-cooking method, not a house recipe from our bakers. It works with every option above; only the soak time changes. The same custard also makes a baked croissant pudding for a crowd.
For 4 to 6 slices: 3 large eggs, 3/4 cup whole milk, 1 tablespoon sugar or maple syrup, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and a pinch of salt.
- Whisk everything in a shallow dish until no streaks of egg white remain.
- Soak each slice: a few seconds per side for brioche and croissant bread, longer for sandwich bread, a minute or two for sourdough and baguette.
- Melt a tablespoon of butter in a skillet over medium to medium-low heat.
- Cook the slices 2 to 3 minutes per side, until golden and set in the middle. Add a little butter between batches.
- Keep finished slices warm on a rack in a 200°F oven while you cook the rest.
Tip: for thick slices, finish them in a 350°F oven for a few minutes after browning. The center sets without the crust burning. Serve with a pat of Banner Butter sea salt butter and maple syrup.
Keeping French toast bread in the freezer
The easiest way to always have the right loaf on hand is to keep it frozen. Our breads and croissants are shipped frozen from the Fresh Baguette kitchen in Germantown, Maryland, and in their sealed packaging they keep in the freezer for up to 6 months. Sliced loaves are the most practical: take out two slices for a weekday breakfast, or the whole loaf for a weekend crowd. For a richer version, here is our croissant French toast recipe, in the skillet or as an overnight bake.
Shop the bakery
Questions about bread for French toast
What bread is closest to brioche?
Challah is the closest common bread to brioche: both are enriched with eggs, though challah usually uses oil instead of butter. Croissant bread is close too, because the dough is rich in butter. Among our loaves, the Butter Croissant Loaf is the most brioche-like: its dough is made with butter, whole eggs and milk.
Is stale bread better for French toast?
For soft doughs like brioche, challah and sandwich bread, yes: one or two days old, they soak up more custard without falling apart. Firm loaves like sourdough work well fresh, as long as you soak them longer.
Can you make French toast with regular sliced bread?
Yes. Thin sandwich slices work, but they soak in seconds and can tear. Leave them out for an hour to dry, use a short dip, and cook them over medium heat. Thicker slices give a more custardy center.
What is the secret to great French toast?
Thick slices of a rich or slightly stale loaf, a custard with enough egg to set, a soak matched to the crumb, and a pan that is not too hot. Soggy results usually come from a soft slice soaked too long or cooked too fast on high heat.
How do you make French toast like a restaurant?
Start with thick slices of brioche, challah or croissant bread, use whole milk or half-and-half in the custard, cook in plenty of butter, and finish the slices in a moderate oven so the center sets all the way through.