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Learn how to make French toast with sourdough bread with this delicious and easy-to-follow recipe.

This Sourdough French toast recipe is divine. Read the post below with my tips for perfectly cooked middles and crisp and golden outsides.

two large slices of sourdough french toast topped with berries and whipped cream

Does Sourdough Bread Make Good French Toast?

In 2020, I, too, jumped on the sourdough bandwagon. Sometimes, the loaf was great and disappeared quickly, while other times, it wasn’t. Those loaves, I most often repurposed into sourdough bread French toast for breakfast.

After many happy breakfasts, my family will attest that sourdough makes terrific French toast. Its crumbly and heartier texture soaks up the liquid mixture just as great as regular French toast with cinnamon, and is the perfect base for syrup and toppings.

If you make your own sourdough, be sure to check out my sourdough discard pancake recipe and my sourdough discard waffles.

Ingredients

Both homemade and store-bought sourdough bread are perfect for making French toast, as long as the slices are no thicker than ½ inch. They’ll soak in the classic liquid mixture made of eggs, milk, vanilla extract, sugar, and cinnamon.

sourdough french toast soaking in a pan before cooking

How to Make Sourdough French Toast

The biggest difference with sourdough French toast is the soaking time, about 3 minutes per side, because the bread is denser than sandwich or Texas toast. You’ll want to preheat your pan first, then grease it, and cook the slices over medium heat. This keeps the butter from burning and ensures the egg mixture cooks through on both sides. You’ll know they’re ready to serve when the middles have puffed up.

sourdough french toast cooking on a griddle

How Long to Soak Sourdough for French Toast

For best results, soak each slice for about 3 minutes per side, usually a little longer on the second side, until most of the egg mixture is absorbed.

Simple Sourdough French Toast

French toast made with sourdough bread and topped with fresh berries

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 10

Total Time: 20

Learn how to make French toast with sourdough bread with this delicious and easy-to-follow recipe.

5 from 7 votes

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Ingredients

4 slices sourdough bread*
4 large eggs
¾ cup milk
3 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon cinnamon
pinch salt
Butter, for cooking

Instructions

Mix

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs until the egg whites have completely mixed with the egg yolks. Add the milk, sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt and combine.
Pour the liquid mixture inside a 9×13 baking dish and place the sourdough slices in the dish. Lightly press down and move the bread slices around. Let the first side soak up the liquid for 3 minutes, flip them over, and let the sourdough soak up the liquid mixture for another 5 minutes until the liquid is nearly gone.

Cook

Heat a large nonstick or cast-iron pan over medium heat. Once hot, melt the butter and immediately place the soaked bread slices, usually 2 per batch, in place. Cook the first side for about 2 minutes.
Flip them over and continue cooking the other side for 2 more minutes, until the top of the middle feels puffy. Remove from the pan and keep warm while you cook the rest of them.

Serve

Serve warm, topped with a little butter and your favorite toppings and syrups.

Storage

Refrigerate cooked leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Notes

Slice the sourdough bread between ½ to 1 inch thick. Use the middle slices, whenever possible, about 5 to 6 inches in length. The liquid mixture is calculated based on these measurements; but if you’re using the smaller slices or the end of the sourdough round, you’ll probably have enough liquid for one or two extra slices.