baked french toast

have i ever told you how much i LOVE french toast? despite this, i almost never make it, and the few times I have, its never been as good as what you get at most diners (although i also love diners, and the atmosphere can make sub-par french toast delicious. my favorite french toast was when rita and i went to the java house for lunch one day, and made friends with the old man who worked there, who came over and chided us for not putting enough syrup on our toast, then proceeded to douse the toast in about 5 pounds of syrup).

so for our belated mother's day brunch, after much debate, we decided on french toast, but knew we had to step it up.
not only is this recipe super simple and delicious, its baked so you can all enjoy brunch together instead of making each slice of toast to order.

baked french toast serves 6 adapted from smitten kitchen
*1 loaf challah
*3 cups milk (we used fat free)
*3 eggs
*3 Tablespoons sugar, plus about 1 teaspoon extra for sprinkling on top
*1/2 teaspoon salt
* about 2 teaspoons cinnamon
*pecans (about 1 large handful)
*raisins (about 1 large handful)
*1 banana, sliced (optional)
1. grease a baking dish.
2. slice challah into 1 inch pieces. arrange in baking dish, packing tightly. you can also layer if necessary.
3. sprinkle pecans and raisins on top. you can also put the pecans and raisins between layers if you want. i recommend squishing them between the slices of bread.
3. whisk together milk, eggs, sugar and salt in a large bowl. pour over bread.
4. sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over everything.
5. cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
6. bake at 425 degrees F for 20 minutes. add slices of banana on top and bake for 10 more minutes.
7. cut, serve, and enjoy! we served ours with more sliced banana, strawberries, pecans, powdered sugar, and syrup.
-Lola