Even if you’ll have breakfast alone, the crispy-on-the-outside and creamy-on-the-inside French toast can still cheer you up!
The best part is that you probably have the ingredients on hand, and the recipe is easy to customize for one serving.
This article will walk you through how to make French toast for one with seven simple steps. So, let’s jump right in!
Step 1: Pick the Best Loaf for Your Taste
Out of all the bread options on the market, choosing which loaf to use in French toast can be overwhelming. The good news is that you can use almost any loaf your heart desires!
So, it all boils down to your preference. For instance, you can opt for egg-based loaves if you want an extra fluffy and custardy inside.
On the other hand, for a classic French toast texture, use plain, soft sandwich bread, such as pain de mie. Sourdough bread or baguettes are your go-to options if you like a little firmness in your French toast.
You’ll also need to consider other bread properties, like flavor and freshness.
Here’s why:
Flavor
Steer clear of bread loaves with tangy, yeasty, or other undesirable flavors.
Sure, the egg batter can mask those unpleasant tastes. However, if the unpleasant flavors are more pronounced, the batter alone won’t cut it.
For that reason, you might want to take a bite of the bread without adding any toppings. If it suits your taste, odds are, it’ll give you excellent results for the French toast recipe.
Freshness
As weird as it might sound, it’s better to opt for stale bread. That’s because the slightly dry bread absorbs the liquids well while maintaining its structure.
As a result, you get extra custardy French toast. Not to mention, stale bread is a great way to take advantage of leftovers!
Typically, one-day-old bread would saturate the best in the egg batter. Still, not everyone can wait that long for bread to go stale.
Luckily, you can dry bread within 30 minutes or less. All you need to do is preheat the oven to 350ºF, place the slices on a baking tray, and let them dry in the oven.
Step 2: Cut Two Thick Slices
Whichever bread type you choose, always buy a whole loaf and cut it into slices around an inch thick. This makes the bread thin enough to soak the batter quickly but sturdy enough to avoid crumbling.
For the most part, two slices will make a suitable serving for one person, but you can adjust the recipe according to your appetite.
Just make sure to use slices with little to no holes. Bread with a close-knit structure soaks up the batter and holds onto it well!
Step 3: Crack an Egg
You’ll usually need a medium-sized egg for one serving of French toast.
The egg proteins glue all the ingredients together since they solidify when heated. Without that binding property, the bread won’t hold the batter well.
Before cracking the egg into a bowl, make sure it’s at room temperature. That way, it’ll be easier to whisk and blend with the other ingredients.
Consequently, you won’t get a scrambled egg texture.
You can also use egg yolks only. That’s especially true if you want to eliminate that eggy taste in your French toast.
Alternatively, you can substitute the eggs with a tablespoon of cornstarch. The starch also acts as a binding agent, but it won’t give you the added fatty richness that eggs provide.
That said, there are some tips to help you overcome an eggy taste or smell in French toast:
- Opt for grade-A, fresh eggs.
- Steer clear of using eggs with broken or cracked shells.
- Avoid eggs with weird discoloration or bumps.
- Don’t use omega-3-enriched eggs. Those eggs smell and taste fishier because of the chickens’ feed.
Step 4: Add a Quarter Cup of Milk
As mentioned earlier, liquids give French toast a custardy, creamy inside. Of course, water is the simplest liquid you can use, but you can’t expect it to add much flavor.
Instead, dairy milk is a more common option since it contains proteins, fats, and a small amount of sugar (lactose). The fat adds a buttery richness to the overall taste while the proteins and sugars undergo the Maillard reaction.
When heated, amino acids in proteins react with carbonyl compounds in sugars to form new products. Those new compounds produce a distinctive brown color, besides different flavors and aromas—all of which make French toast extra delicious!
As a rule of thumb, you’ll need to add a quarter cup of liquid for each egg or two slices of bread. Plus, it’s better to use room-temperature milk so that it mixes well with the other ingredients.
Keep in mind that adding too much milk will result in soggy, undercooked French toast. In contrast, too little liquid results in dry, flavorless bread.
Alternatively, you can substitute dairy milk with oat, almond, and other types of milk, according to your preference.
Step 5: Season the Batter to Your Liking
You can add between a quarter and a full teaspoon of vanilla extract to the egg batter. To spice it up, add a sprinkle of cinnamon to the mix.
Besides vanilla and cinnamon, you can add an eighth of a teaspoon of sugar or more, depending on how sweet you want the batter. Since you’re only making one serving for yourself, you can adjust the better seasoning to your liking!
For instance, mixing in a pinch of salt can take your French toast to a new level. After all, salt enhances all the flavors and makes them more pronounced.
Step 6: Heat the Pan and Soak the Bread
Over medium heat, melt an equal amount of butter and oil. Around one tablespoon of each should do the trick for your serving size.
As the butter melts, soak one toast slice in the liquids. Give the bread slice a few turns to make sure the bread absorbs the batter fully.
For hard loaves like sourdough, you can leave the slice for a couple of minutes to saturate well.
Once the butter melts, place the first slice of wet bread in the pan. Then, dip the other piece into the batter and repeat the process.
Step 7: Cook the Toast Until Golden-Brown
After placing the toast in the pan, cook each side for around a minute and a half.
Using a spatula, lift the edges of the bread to see its color. If it’s golden brown, that means your serving of French toast is done!
Remove the toast from the pan and pick some toppings to complete the dish.
Final Thoughts
Figuring out how to make French toast for one is all about the ingredients.
All you need are two slices of bread, about an inch each, an egg, and a quarter cup of milk. Additionally, you can season the batter with sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt.
Once you get the ingredients to room temperature, mix them. Then, soak the bread slices while heating butter and oil over medium heat.
Finally, cook the bread until golden brown and serve it with any topping of your choice!
Sarah is the founder of Baking Kneads, LLC, a blog sharing guides, tips, and recipes for those learning how to bake. Growing up as the daughter of a baker, she spent much of her childhood learning the basics in a local bakery.