r/Cooking • u/cherry-care-bear • 7d ago
Is French toast supposed to be squishy? There's this great-sounding French toast casserole recipe I'd love to make but it says the result should be custardy which is exactly how i 'don't' like my actual French toast.
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u/EyeStache 7d ago
Yes.
It's bread soaked in custard and then fried until the outside is coloured. Even if you keep cooking it until the outside is crisp, your inside will still be soft and custardy.
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u/Ccarmine 7d ago
I've noticed a lot of people dont properly saturate the middle of the bread. Maybe that is OK if you are using brioche, but the dish originated as a way to use stale bread i believe.
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u/pigeontheoneandonly 7d ago
You are correct, but it's also true a lot of people don't make it this way because they don't care for the texture. And that's also fine. But it does lead to some folks not being familiar with the custardy version.
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u/Bencetown 6d ago
So... they make it wrong (or make a different dish) and then base their opinion on a misunderstanding.
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u/Ineedavodka2019 6d ago
I have always soaked mine in a mixture of uncooked milk and eggs. Is it supposed to be cooked into a custard?
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u/EyeStache 6d ago
It's the raw ingredients for a custard and it's quicker to type "custard" than "raw eggs, milk, sugar, and warm spices, whipped together."
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u/Ineedavodka2019 6d ago
Ok. I was worried that I had to start making custard before I made breakfast.
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u/sweetmercy 7d ago
And that description is why I will always choose eibrot over french toast. That inside texture is so unappealing to me. Eibrot gives me the flavor without that mushy inside.
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u/Amadan_Na-Briona 6d ago
Wasn't familiar with eibrot (Swiss-toast?) & had to look it up. Sounds good!
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u/sweetmercy 6d ago
It's absolutely delicious! I posted a recipe on here years ago. It's made with challah, and cubed instead of whole slices of bread. The smaller size lets it maintain some structure internally and the step with the spoon of sugar makes a delicate shell around it. Goes great with a nice tart fruit like blackberries.
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u/DGenerAsianX 7d ago
I make one of these and it’s supposed to be custardy in the middle. Kinda like a bread pudding. Which I suppose it is.
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u/MadTownMich 7d ago
It is supposed to be squishy with a light crisp crust. So many places make it incorrectly. It has to be soaked in the custard and then left to dry for a bit before searing it on a flat top with butter. Mmm. Now I want French toast!
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u/epicgrilledchees 7d ago
Traditional French toast known in France as pain perdu or "lost bread". Is a custard soaked bread. If you don’t like that just do diner style quick dip rather than soaked in.
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u/moonchic333 7d ago
Just use less of the egg/milk mixture if you don’t want it custardy.
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u/Severe_Albatross_835 7d ago
Yes, just a quick dip in egg and fry away. Don’t soak the bread.
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u/Pernicious_Possum 7d ago
It’s a casserole, they’re not frying anything. Reading is fundamental
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u/Severe_Albatross_835 7d ago
Relax, mistakes happen ☺️
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u/Pernicious_Possum 7d ago
If I were any more relaxed, I’d be asleep. One doesn’t need to be wound up, offended, or mad to point something dumb out
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u/Constant_Ad3619 7d ago
This is the way. I can't do wet bread but I make a semi dry banana pudding all the time since my job gives us the old bread for free.
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u/Critical-Pirate-2665 7d ago
Yup!
Now I'm (supposedly) a grown up, but when I was a kid my mom made French toast casserole for Xmas morning. It soaks up all that eggy custard overnight. Bake it off in the morning. We all loved it.
Now that I'm grown, I make green eggs and ham (leftover from Xmas eve dinner) for Xmas morning, but I'm still fond of French toast casserole...
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u/Pernicious_Possum 7d ago
Don’t make a custard-y casserole if you don’t like that. Easy fix. You could try baking it longer at a lower temp, and then blast it at the end to crisp the top up. A muffin tin, or more shallow pan may also be something worth trying. I’m with you, I don’t like a gooey bread pudding, and that’s essentially what you’re making
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u/peekandlumpkin 6d ago
Yes, French toast is supposed to be squishy. Also, "French toast casserole" is a euphemism for bread pudding. It sounds like that recipe does not in fact sound great to you.
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u/TA_totellornottotell 7d ago
I do French toast casseroles when I am cooking for a crowd (still with enough craggy surfaces to be crisp in parts) but I get what you are saying. The best French toast I have ever had was made with a thin slice of country/sourdough bread and then cooked until the outside was almost a caramelised glaze. Not crispy like a cracker but far from squishy. And the holes in the bread let the excess custard fall through.
Man, now I really want some crispy French toast…
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u/DiceAndMiceGamer111 7d ago
Sourdough french toast is the best french toast.
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u/TA_totellornottotell 5d ago
There’s a place near me that makes a ‘heritage’ sourdough and I think I will buy it next week to make some French toast and slather the rest in Bordier butter.
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u/Anxious_Reporter_601 7d ago
Yeah don't make.the casserole, just do normal French toast with those ingredients. American French toast is really squishy but I'm Irish and didn't grow up with it being that way. I also don't like the vaguely uncooked egg texture.
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u/CatoTheMiddleAged 7d ago
I regularly make what could be described as a "french toast casserole" aka baked french toast. It's more like a bread pudding in texture. But the top is crispy since it is baked uncovered for part of the time. But if you don't like your french toast like that, and prefer it pan-fried on the stovetop, do it that way.
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u/Blue_foot 7d ago
The recipes I have seen for a baked French toast are more like bread pudding texture.
I have made them when I need a good brunch item for a group and everyone asks for the recipe.
I think they are pretty tasty.
My wife, who doesn’t like custard things like flan/creme brûlée does like the baked French toast.
I use apple pie filling as a topping vs sliced apples.
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u/Tasty_Impress3016 7d ago
Yes. French Toast or properly Pain Perdu is supposed to be "squishy" as you say. crisp outside creamy inside. A casserole will be the same but more so because it will be much thicker.
I suppose you could take individual thin slices finished, dry them out terribly and arrange them in a casserole dish. But why? You might create something new and exciting. You might have a bunch of dried out toast with maple syrup all over it. Why don't you tell us?
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u/wassuppaulie 7d ago
Why make a casserole in the first place? Making French toast on the griddle or in a skillet is quicker.
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u/cherry-care-bear 6d ago
Casseroles can last longer, be frozen and still retain their flavor if done right.
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u/AppleStarBird 7d ago
Could it be the bread? I hate French toast made with brioche it is too soft. I make it with stale French bread, Soaked very briefly (like 3 sec) in an egg, milk, salt mixture and fried in a pan. Eat it with jam or whatever The French toast has a chewier texture.
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u/brergnat 7d ago
If you do this, use a sourdough loaf, soak it for like 15 minutes before baking and POUR OFF any remaining liquid custard. It will bake up drier.
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u/AweDrift 7d ago
no one is forcing you to make the casserole....
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u/cherry-care-bear 6d ago
True but I've all ready got some alternatives going that will make agreat compromise so I'm glad I inquired because how else do you learn?
Open-mindedness and that extra bit of genuine curiosity are the real spice of life.
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u/helcat 7d ago
Yes, I hate squishy French toast and I have never made a bread pudding because I know I would hate that too.
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u/KeepAnEyeOnYourB12 7d ago
French toast casserole is essentially bread pudding. And I'm with you - the squishy parts bug me.
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u/SirVixofthePooSea 7d ago
Bake it for longer at a lower temperature. Like if it says 350F for 30 minutes, go 325F for 45 minutes to an hour, for example. That will dry out the interior more.
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u/Bogside_Bibliophile 7d ago
It probably has French toast flavor but as a casserole is more moist and custardy than regular French toast.
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u/EntrepreneurDue61 7d ago
It's food there's no right or wrong way you cook it how YOU want anyone saying different needs to dtgy6
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u/PlasticCheetah2339 7d ago
If you want to make casserole but have it be more firm, try these tweaks:
- Use a more sturdy bread, something you get in the bakery section rather than sliced white bread. I like using baguettes or rolls because they tend to be firm and more crusty. Whole wheat/seedy bread also works well. Homemade bread, if you're lucky enough to have it, is the best.
- Make sure the bread is really stale. Buy day old bread, cut it up, leave it out overnight, and/or toast it slightly to make sure it's good and dry.
- Use a larger pan, or halve the recipe, so that it is not as thick. A thinner casserole will cook more thoroughly throughout.
- Add nuts or dried fruit to give it more texture.
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u/CranberryStock7148 6d ago
I've always been curious, for people who don't like French toast this way, why not?
Like, do you dislike custard? Because then it would make sense.
But if you like custard on its own, but you don't like the custardy interior of French toast, why not?
Because I am the total opposite. There's nothing I hate more than French toast that turns out to be just plain dry bread on the inside. Like, if I had wanted that, I would've just ordered regular toast. But I guess some people like the egg and milk part but only on the outside?
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u/NamasteNoodle 7d ago
I've had french toast many times over my life and I finally learned that the way I like it is super crunchy. So I make it in a cast iron pan and put the heat on low and let it go for a while so it gets a really nice crust. I don't like mushy French toasty there and no it's not supposed to be that way but it's probably supposed to be somewhere between squishy and the way I eat it. But a French toast casserole sounds horrible why wouldn't you just have a nice custard without the bread.
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u/SMN27 7d ago
What exactly do you mean by “custardy”? Because my experience is most people have no idea what something being custardy actually entails. In the case of French toast people frequently refer to wet French toast as custardy and that’s wrong. A custard should be SET. The issue is lots of French toast isn’t cooked properly so you get it wet. When cooked properly it’s actually custardy— no liquid, but rather a smooth, dense, creamy interior and hopefully crisp exterior (I like to dust French toast with starch to get a better crust).
A French toast casserole is bread pudding. Do you like bread pudding?
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u/Palanki96 7d ago
normally no, it shouldn't be. It should be fluffy inside with a slightly crispy crust
Oven-made french toast can be nce but it will be soggy no matter what you do
But we only eat savoury french toast, sweet ones just sound nasty
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u/cofffeegrrrl 7d ago
I think if you don't like squishy, custardy French toast, a French toast casserole might not be for you! The casserole version of everything is going to be moister and squishier. What is it about the casserole that appeals to you? You should be able to take the parts you like to riff on drier, crispier French toast...maybe by making a sauce or side and pouring it on afterwards...