French Toast Casserole

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     Looking for an easy and delicious way to feed a group or your family brunch? This casserole is a recipe worth making. We have used it at Thanksgiving and for a few brunches that we have hosted. In the past I always made individual slices but that was VERY time consuming, as it turns out this is just as delicious and not time consuming at all. If fact, it tastes best if you prep it the night before. So when morning comes simply remove it from the fridge and bake!

     We are very lucky here in Charlotte, we have a bakery called Great Harvest Bread Company and they make wonderful "real food" breads. They happen to make a whole wheat cinnamon chip bread, and that is what I like to use for our french toast and french toast casserole. I like to describe it by saying, "it tastes like fairies made it". That is the truth too, it is so delicious!

     I hope that you will all find this make ahead recipe easy and delightful. The only draw back is it is not very allergy friendly. There are no nuts, but it does contain dairy and gluten. If you an allergy free home, you are in luck you can serve this as your main course for breakfast or brunch!

French Toast Casserole 

what you need:

1 Cinnamon Bread Loaf or 1 Brioche Loaf

(we use whole wheat when possible) 

6 eggs

2 cups whole milk

1/2c heavy cream or 1/2 & 1/2

1tsp vanilla

1/2tsp nutmeg 

1/2tsp cinnamon

what to do:

1. In a large mixing bowl combine all of your ingredients except bread and cinnamon

2. With a hand mixer beat on medium speed for 2 min until combined well

3. Grease a large casserole dish (I use a 9x13) 

4. break bread into about 1" chunks and put into the casserole dish 

5. pour custard mixture over top and using clean hands or a spatula mix bread into the custard

6. cover and store in fridge overnight (you can skip this but it tastes better if you chill it for at least an hour)

7. remove casserole from fridge and uncover. Sprinkle cinnamon and a little extra nutmeg over the top. Put into a 350' preheated oven. Bake for 40-50min until a toothpick will come out clean and the top is slightly brown.

8. Serve with Pure maple syrup and enjoy!