Pumpkin French Toast

Lyuba’s Awesome Recipe

If I had to choose one thing to eat for breakfast for the rest of my life, it would be French Toast. No need to think about it twice, it’s my absolute favorite breakfast dish. 

I took my famous French toast recipe and gave it a “fall makeover” for the season featuring the fall favorite pumpkin pie spice and pumpkin puree, of course.

This pumpkin version is just AMAZING. So much comforting fall flavor between the pumpkin and the pumpkin pie extract and spices. Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and all those beautiful fall spices that bring the best flavor and aroma are in is this tasty breakfast treat. It’s great for a family breakfast together or every upcoming holiday. 

Ingredient Notes and Tips

Brioche bread – Brioche is so soft and fluffy with sweet and buttery flavor, it does the best job soaking the sweet egg mixture. For the best French Toast, use Brioche loaf and slice it into thick slices that are between 3/4 and 1 inch thick. 

Eggs – four large eggs should be just right for the 8 oz. Brioche loaf.

Milk – since we will be adding pumpkin puree, I made a switch to whole milk. It is your best choice but if you need to, substitute a dairy free alternative, like oat milk. Use lactose free milk or lactose free half and half for lactose free option. Just remember that classic Brioche bread is made with dairy.

Pumpkin puree – if available, use homemade pumpkin puree but of course, a store-bought will work just fine. Note that homemade pumpkin puree can sometimes be thinner so you really need to pay attention to that! When getting store-bought, make sure to get pumpkin puree NOT pumpkin pie mix!

Pumpkin spice extract – this is a great extract to have for all your fall baking so I highly recommend it. If you can’t get your hands on some, you can use additional spices instead. Feel free to add 1/2 tsp of ground ginger and 1/4 tsp of ground allspice as well.

See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.

Best Bread For Pumpkin French Toast

Hands down, the best bread for French toast is Brioche. I’ve tested so many different breads and everyone agrees that Brioche is the way to go! 

If you can’t find Brioche, close runners up are French or Italian loaves or Challah bread. Try to get bread from the deli section of the grocery store. That bread is usually freshly baked and has a much better texture and flavor.

How To Make Pumpkin French Toast

Slice the Brioche bread into slices that are about 3/4-1 inch thick. Out of a 8oz loaf, you can get 8 slices. Try to keep all the slices as evenly cut as you can so they cook evenly as well.

In a deep and wide bowl, whisk together the egg mixture ingredients until smooth and set it aside.

Preheat a large cooking pan oven medium to medium-low heat first, before battering and adding the bread. You do not want to add the bread slices while the pan is cold or it will not cook well and get stuck to the pan. (Lyuba’s Tip: you can also use a pancake griddle to make French Toast.)

Grease the preheated pan. Dip each slice of bread into the egg mixture as well as the edges. Brioche bread is nice and quick to soak up the egg so don’t hold it in there too long. (Just batter as many slices as will fit into the pan. If you have to cook in two or more batches, batter bread right before adding it to the pan.)

Place battered slices into the pan and let it cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, until golden brown on the outside and you saw the centers of the bread raise and fall.

Tips to Prevent French Toast Bread Being Soggy in the Middle?

Here are some tips for the most common mistakes that lead to soggy French toast:

• Too much milk/cream – don’t add more than the recipe recommends.
• Bread cut too thin – cut the bread between 3/4 and 1 inch thick.
• Preheat the pan first! – don’t even start cooking in a cold or cool pan.
• Cook over medium heat or even a little lower than medium. If using higher heat, the bread cooks to fast on the outside and does not cook through on the inside.
• Make sure it’s cooked through (touch the center) – once you flip the bread slices, you will notice the bread will raise in the center. Let it raise, cook, and deflate. Touch in the center to make sure it feels firm.

PIN THIS RECIPE FOR LATER

If you’ve made my pumpkin French toast recipe using my recipe and found a lot of good information here, PLEASE leave a 🌟 star rating! Let me know how you liked it by leaving the 📝 comment below as well.

More Fall Breakfast Ideas

• Pumpkin Pancakes
• Apple Pie Pancakes
• Apple Pie Stuffed French Toast
• Eggnog French Toast
• Pecan Pie French Toast Casserole

Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles on October 27, 2012.