Monday’s Bread Bowl: Apple French Toast Bake

One-shot breakfast meal with no frying pan

Apples are in season. Our recent discussion of maple syrup (or pancake syrup) had us thinking of French toast. Our version calls for multigrain or whole wheat bread. Baked French toast means less fat than traditional pan-fried French toast. We’ve also added walnuts for a crunch.

What you will need:

1 wooden spoon
1 baking dish
1 medium-sized bowl
5 eggs, beaten
8 bread slices, 1/2 inch or thicker (hardy bread and not a soft variety so that it won't disintegrate easily when absorbing liquid)
4 medium apples - peeled, cored and thinly sliced (Choose Rome, Jonagold, or Pippin for baking)
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
2 teaspoons cinnamon
¼ cup walnuts

Cooking and Directions:

Combine eggs, sugar, cinnamon, and milk in bowl. Mix well. Place four slices of bread in a baking dish. This will make the first layer of the bake. Pour half of the egg mixture on bread in baking dish. Next, place half of the apple slices over the bread to make the second layer in the baking dish. Sprinkle some walnuts on apples. Repeat the procedure with remaining bread, liquid mixture, apples and walnuts. There should be four main layers (2 bread and 2 apple) when finished. Dot with butter. Sprinkle more cinnamon on top if desired. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before serving with syrup. Optional addition: 1 teaspoon vanilla extract