Monday's Bread Bowl: Pumpkin French Toast Bake

A warm fall pick-me-up

Try this French toast bake and you’ll be biting into a rich and sweet serving of pumpkin for breakfast or brunch.  Here’s the recipe:

What you will need:

1 (9 x 13 inch) baking pan

Nonstick Cooking Spray

1 wire whisk

Aluminum foil

1 baking spatula

1 medium-sized bowl

1 French baguette, sliced into roughly ½ inch thick slices

5 whole eggs, beaten

1 ½ cups canned pumpkin

1 tspn vanilla extract

1 tspn ground cinnamon

¾ cup brown sugar

¾ cup evaporated milk

Pinch of salt

Cooking & Directions:

Combine eggs, milk, vanilla extract in medium-sized bowl.  Whisk until mixture is frothy.  Next, fold in pumpkin, salt, sugar, and cinnamon to mixture and blend.  Meanwhile, grease baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.  Arrange and build layers of bread slices in baking pan.  Spread and pour all of French toast batter over layers of bread.  Cover pan with aluminum foil and place in the fridge to soak and season overnight.  Preheat oven at 325 degrees the next morning.  Let the dish bake uncovered for 45 minutes to an hour then remove from oven.  Let dish rest for at least 10 to 15 minutes before serving with maple syrup or honey.