Baked French Toast

I discovered how easy French toast can be when you bake it at a Church youth overnighter I was in charge of years ago.  The kids had helped with the menus and had hands down voted for French toast for breakfast.  I was not just about to slave in the kitchen making six slices at a time for over 30 teenagers.  We were staying in a lodge with an industrial kitchen, so I just layered bread in giant shallow pans and baked it.  It was all ready at the same time and the kids thought it was fabulous.

(this is a before baking shot to give you an idea of how it all looks)

This is just like a stratta but instead of tearing the bread in pieces, you leave the slices whole and layer them on top of each other.  When you cut into it, you serve a whole stack all at once.  I have included some extra instructions to  make these even more rich (add a layer of butter and brown sugar) before baking.  It's good plain with maple syrup and it's good with the sauce.  

Baked French Toast:
1 loaf of bread
8 eggs
2 cups milk
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
Put 2 layers of bread in the bottom of a greased 9X13 pan. In a bowl, beat eggs, milk, vanilla and cinnamon. Pour over bread, cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove from fridge 30 minutes before baking. Bake covered for 50 minutes at 350 degrees, uncover and bake another 15 minutes or until golden brown.  (OPTIONAL additional instructions: Meanwhile, heat 3/4 cup butter and 1 1/3 cup brown sugar in a sauce pan, stirring until melted together. Spread over bread. Bake uncovered, at 350 degrees 45-60 minutes or until golden brown. Let sit a few minutes before serving as topping is VERY hot.)


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