Sourdough French Toast Recipe (without vanilla)

Tangy, crusty bread and sweet custard collide in this simple recipe for Sourdough French Toast. So long as you have bread on hand, you’ll only need 6 ingredients and a few minutes of prep to get this restaurant-worthy homemade brunch on the table.

Jump to:

• About This Recipe
• Ingredients & Substitutions
• Equipment
• How To Make Sourdough French Toast
• Optional Variations
• Expert Tips
• Frequently Asked Questions
• More Sourdough Recipes
• Sourdough French Toast

About This Recipe

If you’ve been following the blog for a while, you might’ve noticed I’m on something of a sourdough kick. Making homemade sourdough starter is just the beginning; I’ve also honed in on sourdough garlic bread, sourdough croutons, sourdough discard pancakes, and now, this sourdough french toast. 

While pain perdu (as the French like to call it) is typically thought of as a purely sweet endeavor, I’m digging the complexity of french toast with homemade sourdough bread. There’s something positively alluring about the tart, tangy flavor of the bread against the slightly sweet, warmly seasoned custard that I just can’t get enough of.

Not only does sourdough have it's signature tangy flavor to offer in this simple breakfast recipe, but it also boasts a much crustier exterior than what you’d find in, say, a brioche french toast. This more toothsome quality makes my sourdough french toast recipe perfect not just for eating on its own, but also for building some pretty epic breakfast sandwiches.

So, if you’ve ever wondered “can you make french toast with sourdough bread,” the answer is YES! Yes. 1,000 times yes. Do it this weekend and you’ll see how your breakfast game can level up in the blink of an eye.

Ingredients & Substitutions

Luckily, this sourdough french toast recipe only requires a few pantry staples. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Milk - Feel free to use dairy or your choice of plant-based milk here to make your custardy egg mixture, such as oat milk or almond milk.
• Eggs - While I use whole eggs here, you can easily make a much richer custard by using all egg yolks. If you do, be sure to add an extra to replace the lost liquid from the whites.
• Cinnamon - There’s actually no added sugar in my tasty eggy bread recipe, but the warmth of cinnamon and other spices helps to trick the senses into believing that it is sweet.
• Cardamom - Citrusy, fruity, sweet, and piney, cardamom is one of my favorite flavors. If you don’t have any on hand, try swapping in some allspice or a bit more of both cinnamon and nutmeg.
• Nutmeg - Freshly grated nutmeg tastes so much more pungent than the pre-ground kind. Plus, buying whole spices has the added benefit of having them last pretty much indefinitely on the shelf!
• Unsalted Pat of Butter - Organic, grass-fed, and/or cultured are all what Martha Stewart would call “good things.”
• Sliced Sourdough Sandwich Bread - If possible, shoot for thick slices of sourdough bread, about ¾ inch thick for your french toast slices. Any regular bread slices is a great option!

Equipment

Making sourdough bread french toast requires just a few kitchen basics. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Non-Stick Pan. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about making french toast with sourdough or any other kind of bread is that you need a good non-stick pan that has been pre-heated to get the perfect golden sheen.
• Fish Spatula. While you can technically use any kind of spatula to flip your french toast, I find that the extra long, flexible head of fish spatulas make them my ideal tool.
• Shallow & Wide Bowl. Any bowl will work here, but I like the wide opening and shallow depth of pasta bowls for dipping my bread in the custard mix.
• Aluminum Foil or Pachment Paper for warming the thick slices of bread once they've been pan fried. I like to use a baking sheet to hold them on a single layer!
• Airtight Container for storing leftover french toast in thr fridge, or throw them in a freezer bag to store in the freezer!

How To Make Sourdough French Toast

Using leftover sourdough bread for french toast doesn’t change the basics of this classic recipe. Here’s how it’s done:

Step 1: Make Sourdough using this recipe. NOTE: You can also use store-bought bread if you prefer to skip a step!

Step 2: Make Custard. Whisk together the milk, eggs, and spices until well combined.

Step 3: Pan-Fry. Cut sourdough into slices about ¾ inch thick. Working in batches according to the size of your pan, dip slices in the french toast base, then pan-fry in butter until golden brown on both sides.

Step 4: Garnish & Serve. Top french toast with fresh fruit like strawberries, blackberries, thyme, and maple syrup, then dust with powdered sugar. You could even add peanut butter as a sweet and savory option!

Optional Variations

• Try other types of bread. Brioche, challah, sweet Hawaiian bread, and even my brioche-based babka (chocolate hazelnut, raspberry pecan, or s’mores) would be delightful enriched breads to use in place of crusty sourdough bread for homemade french toast.
• Make it a breakfast sandwich. It might sound decadent, but using your sourdough french toast as the base for a cheesy, eggy, meaty delicious breakfast sandwich is a seriously delicious move that I wholeheartedly recommend you try. The perfect way to enjoy an easy breakfast with go-to rather simple ingredients.
• Make it non-dairy. Plant-based milk and dairy can certainly be used in place of traditional dairy.
• Use brown sugar. Adding a tablespoon or two of brown sugar to the custard base will make your french toast variation even more caramelized and luxurious.

Expert Tips

If you’ve never attempted making french toast at home, I’m here to tell you: it’s easier than you think! That said, I have a few tricks I’ve learned along the way:

• Mix the custard thoroughly. I think my biggest pet peeve with french toast is when there are long, thin strands of visible egg whites that taste almost metallic. Don’t make this mistake. Blend your custard with vigor until it is perfectly uniform.
• Cut the bread into thick slices, at least ¾ - 1-inch thick. We all know that toast is great, but french toast is supposed to be a custardy delight! Make sure your bread is thick enough to soak up all that milky-eggy deliciousness.
• Preheat the pan. Putting a slice of custard-soaked sourdough in a pan that isn’t hot enough will result in the custard leaking out and creating a “foot” around your french toast. Make sure the butter is melted and bubbling before you add it to the pan so the heat can sear the custard quickly, helping to keep it where it belongs.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Sourdough Recipes

• Homemade Sourdough Croutons
• Sourdough Garlic Bread
• The Ultimate Sourdough Grilled Cheese Sandwich
• Pest & Black Pepper Sourdough Focaccia

As always, I love seeing your creations and hearing from you! If you try this recipe for my Sourdough French Toast, please share your creation with me on social media! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Youtube and Pinterest - for more delicious recipes sent straight to your inbox, sign up for my newsletter!