French toast remains one of the most popular breakfast treats in many American households. You can’t go wrong with French toast on any day, including on those lazy Sunday mornings when you want something relatively easy and fast to prepare.
With that said, if you own a griddle or electric skillet, you might be asking yourself whether it’s possible to cook your French toast on the griddle, how exactly to do it, what temperature to use, and many other questions.
This article answers all your questions regarding cooking French toast on the griddle.
Can you make French toast on a griddle?
You can quickly cook toast on a griddle for your breakfast. You’re also not limited to what type of griddle you can use to prepare this breakfast treat. Whether you own an electric skillet, flattop, or stovetop griddle, you can still prepare your French toasts.
However, you should keep in mind that making French toast on a griddle can turn into a messy affair if this is not something you’re used to, so you should first learn how to do it smoothly without getting all messy (keep tuned in for more info on how to cook French toast on your griddle).
What temperature do you cook French toast on a griddle?
The ideal temperature for cooking French toast on a griddle is 350 degrees Fahrenheit. If you’re using other types of griddle different than an electric skillet, you should set it to a Medium-high heat level. This temperature is perfect for thoroughly cooking your French toast and giving it a golden brown look without burning it on the outside.
How long should each side of French toast cook?
French toast should cook for an average of three minutes on each side to cook through and form that creamy interior and crispy outside while forming that golden brown look.
However, the cooking time can run from two to four minutes depending on your bread’s size and thickness on both sides. The bigger and thicker your bread is, the longer the cooking time becomes.
Remember, this suggested cooking time of three minutes only works if you use the recommend heat setting of medium-high heat or 350 degrees F for cooking French toast on a griddle.
How do you make French toast on a griddle?
Making French toast on your griddle is easy and fun if you have an idea of what you’re doing. The following simple recipe will give you a good starting point for making French toast on your griddle.
Basic French toast recipe:
Ingredients
- 4 slices of bread
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- Butter and vegetable oil for cooking
Steps:
1. The first step is to make a mixture of egg and milk. To do this, beat an egg in a large, shallow bowl and add vanilla and cinnamon. stir in milk
2. Dip the bread in the mixture and ensure you evenly coat both sides with the egg mixture.
3. Put the slices of bread on a lightly greased griddle or electric skillet preheat at 350 degrees F or medium-high heat setting. Cook until the bread slices appear browned on both sides.
4. Serve your French toast with easy spiced syrup. Mix one teaspoon of vanilla extract and ¼ ground cinnamon into one cup of pancake syrup to make the syrup. Stir the mixture well. Serve warm.
Why is my French toast soggy?
If you’re trying to make your first French toast on a griddle and it turns all soggy, you might start wondering yourself why it turned so and what you did wrong.
In this section, we’ll point out the key reasons why this happened and how you can prevent it from happening.
Your French toast feels soggy because it doesn’t cook through and instead retains moisture on the inside. The outside does not become as crispy and can’t form a proper barrier. It could be caused by undercooking your French toast. Or your bread soaked up too much of the mixture, or there’s too much milk in custard.
How do you make French toast not soggy?
1. Avoid soaking your bread too much
One of the reasons your French toast becomes too soggy is that you wet them too much. Make sure it doesn’t sit there for long when you soak each slice of bread in the custard.
Giving each side of the slice a few seconds will help it draw enough flavor and moisture needed for perfect cooking. Letting the bread sit in there for a long will make it excessively moist and affect your overall cooking results.
2. You used too much milk
Milk is a crucial ingredient for making delicious French toasts. But this doesn’t mean you should use it in large quantities. Most beginners tend to add equal portions of the milk as the egg, which is a perfect recipe for soggy French toasts.
The problem with too much milk is that your slices of bread will end up taking up too much of it, and the egg only gets to coat the outside a little bit.
To be on the safe side, add less milk than your eggs—just enough amount of thin out you’re a custard a little. Consider using full-fat dairy since it’s less watery. Or you can go for heavy cream as an alternative to milk.
3. Undercooked French toasts get soggy
If you don’t cook your French toast well, it could be another reason they turn out soggy. During cooking, you might notice your bread slices starting to burn and smoke before it’s done cooking. You might think removing it out of your griddle will help. But the truth is if it’s not done cooking, it will turn out soggy!
4. Too much butter can be a problem
If you’re using only butter for cooking your French toasts, then you might have noticed that it starts to burn and smoke before being cooked. The most obvious step you’ll take is to remove the bread slice from the griddle, and it’s up being soggy since it’s undercooked.
It happens because the milk solids in the butter start burning, and they end up sticking to your French toast and give it a bitter flavor. To prevent this, consider using half butter and half of the neutral cooking oil. This way, you’ll reduce the amount of butter.
Vegetable or rapeseed oil will do work fine. Coconut oil may be great too. But avoid using olive oil.
One more thing: cooking on a griddle doesn’t require you to use a lot of oil. Just a thin coating is needed to cook your toasts.
5. Use the right bread for your French toasts
You might soak your bread for just enough time, but if it’s a thin slice of bread, it will end up getting soggy. We advise you to avoid using plain white bread to make French toast as it’s flimsy, thin, and airy. It lacks adequate body and crust to up to your custard.
So, what’s the best bread to use for French toasts? Use a denser bread that has more body. Ensure the slice feels strong enough to hold up together after you’ve dipped it in the custard. Learn more about the correct type of bread to use in the next section.
What type of bread is best for French toast?
The type of bread you choose for French toast affects how great your French toasts come out and the taste of your toasts. As mentioned in the previous section, flimsy bread is a primary culprit of soggy French toasts.
To ensure you cook perfect toasts, we suggest using sturdy and spongy feeling bread. Look for day-old bread, if possible. Make sure it features a good crust and feels substantial when you touch it. The perfect bread for making toast should NOT be airy or light. If you can get eggy bread, that’s even better because it will give your French toasts a good texture.
As most French toasts fans will agree, the best bread to make French toast is Brioche, French Baguette, and Challah. All the bread will offer you great-tasting French toasts. But if we’re to choose just one bread, it’d be Brioche bread—it makes the best tasting French toasts compared to the other three.
Let’s briefly describe each of these bread below.
Brioche
Brioche is a classic French pastry that individuals and even bakers like making into load or buns. To use this bread for making French toasts, cut it into thick slices ranging from ½ to one-inch thickness.
Since this bread has such a soft and fluffy feel, it does a fantastic job soaking in the egg mixture. And when you soak it in the egg and cook it, it gives you a delicious French toast with soft, buttery, and sweet inside while the outside looks pleasantly crispy.
The bread itself has a sweet and buttery flavor that contributes to the overall great taste of your French toast.
French Baguette
It is also an excellent bread for making French toasts on the griddle. It does an excellent job of soaking up the egg mixture while holding its integrity pretty well.
However, remember that this bread doesn’t soak up eggs as easily and quickly as the Brioche bread. Nevertheless, holding it in the egg mixture for a little longer ensures each side of the bread soaks up well.
Because this bread is a bit thinner than the Challah and Brioche bread, it will yield more slices. If using this bread, consider cutting it into ½-inch thick pieces (not wider than this). Also, ensure you cut the bread on a diagonal.
It has a softer inside and a pleasant crunch taste. It has a bit denser texture which makes your French toasts chewier.
Challah
The flavor and texture of challah break make it another excellent choice for making French toasts. It’s also denser and a bit drier compared to the two pieces of bread above, further making it great for French toasts. The bread lacks much sweetness, so it’s an ideal choice if you don’t want your French toasts to be sweet.
But if you need the sweetness, you add sugar to your egg mixture or in the topping.
How many eggs per slice for French toast?
The rule of thumb is to have one egg for every two slices of bread for French toast making. And for each egg you use, be sure to use only a ¼ cup of milk. Some people also consider using the egg yolk only to avoid the rubbery texture that comes as a result of using too much of the egg white.
How do you cook frozen French toast sticks?
Cooking frozen French toasts sticks on a griddle is simple, especially since you can directly reheat them from the freezer. You should arrange the sticks in a single layer on a preheated griddle or skillet and cook them at 350 degrees F for approx. 5 minutes. Remember to flip each side of the stick halfway through the cooking.
How do you make fluffy French toast from scratch?
If you prefer your French toast real fluffy, then you’ll need to use the batter for your French toasts. It means adding floor in addition to eggs and milk.
We found this simple recipe for fluffy French toast, ideal for 12 servings, that you might want to try out.
Ingredients
- 12 slices of bread
- 3 beaten eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 cup plain white floor
- Pinch of salt
Instructions:
1. Whisk egg, milk, and flour in a large bowl to form a thoroughly mixed batter. The perfect batter should feature consistency and texture similar to that of pancake.
2. Soak your bread slices in the batter and ensure they get well saturated with the mixture.
3. On a medium-high preheated, oiled griddle, cook each side of the bread for a few minutes, making sure the bread looks nice and golden on both sides.
Final Thoughts
Now you have everything you need to know about cooking French toast on a griddle. With all this information at your fingertips, making French toasts on a griddle should be fun and straightforward for you.