Baked French Toast with Maple-Walnut Syrup
Bon Appétit, July 1992

Freedom from the skillet is a big benefit of this baked version of the classic making it easy to serve French toast to a large number of people.

For the French toast:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature
12 3/4-inch-thick French bread slices
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt

Powdered sugar

For the maple syrup:
2 cups maple syrup
1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped

To make the french toast:
Spread butter over bottom of heavy large baking pan with 1-inch-high sides. Arrange bread slices in pan. Beat eggs, milk, sugar, syrup, vanilla and salt to blend in large bowl. Pour mixture over bread. Turn bread slices to coat. Cover with plastic and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake French bread 10 minutes. Turn bread over and continue baking until just golden, about 4 minutes longer. (reviews of the recipe said it took much longer to bake) Transfer cooked toast to plates and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve immediately, passing Maple-Walnut Syrup separately.

To prepare maple syrup:
Combine syrup and walnuts in heavy medium saucepan. Bring to simmer. Serve syrup hot. Makes about 3 cups.

Makes 6 servings.