Challah French Toast Bake for Easy Brunch

At a Glance 

• Use challah bread for this French toast casserole for a tender, sweet bite. 

• This is a baked custard dish that’s perfect for brunch or special occasions. 

• Make this challah French toast bake the night before and bake the next morning for the best flavour and texture. 

• Add toppings like fresh berries or fruit, maple syrup, or cinnamon sugar if you like. 

• Bake until golden brown and set and allow to rest slightly before serving for easier slicing. 

Challah French Toast Bake 

A decadent brunch dish that’s designed to feed a crowd, this challah French toast bake is a must-make! For the easiest and most convenient dish, prep this French toast casserole the night before and allow to rest in the fridge. This helps the custard absorb into the challah bread, making for a tender, luscious bite.  

What is Challah Bread? 

A rich, tender egg bread, challah (pronounced haa-luh) is traditionally enjoyed on the Jewish sabbath and holidays. Braided or twisted, challah bread can be served in different shapes or sizes. For Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year), challah loaves are slightly sweeter, baked in a round shape to symbolize the cyclical nature of time, and studded with raisins. Other times, this braided bread can be anywhere from three to five, six, or even eight strands. These strands represent arms intertwining and symbolize, among other things: love, truth, peace, creation, freedom, and harmony. As you can see, challah bread is taken very seriously and is an important part of the Jewish faith, culture, and celebrations. 

In Farm Boy stores, we proudly carry breads from the Rideau Bakery. A beloved Ottawa-based Kosher bakery, Rideau Bakery has had over 90 years of experience in the business of baking tasty, quality products. Their family recipes have stood the test of time and have developed a loyal following in our communities. If you’re looking to feed a crowd, we have the answer! As part of our catering program, we offer a massive 8-braid challah, perfect for celebrations. (It’ll also feed a big crowd at a regular weekend brunch, too!) 

The History of Challah Bread 

Challah bread comes from Ashkenazi Jewish tradition. The word “challah” is biblical in origin and means “loaf” or “cake” in Hebrew. Challah bread is also called other names, such as cholla, kolach, khala, and more, depending on the country, region, and dialect. 

Challah has a rich history—much like the bread itself—and there is a ritualistic tradition to enjoying this sweet bread during the Jewish Sabbath. If a person is making challah, they may set aside a portion of the dough as an offering. During Sabbath dinner, two loaves of challah bread will be covered with a cloth. A blessing is recited, and dinner guests wash their hands. The challah cloth is then removed, and the two loaves are held up together. Another blessing is recited by the head of the household before the bread is torn or sliced and distributed among the attendees to eat. 

Salting challah at the Sabbath meal is considered a necessary step, and the bread can either be dipped in salt, sprinkled with salt, or simply served on the table with salt. 

Ingredients for Challah French Toast Bake 

Challah Bread: Soft, pillowy, and sprinkled with just the right amount of sesame seeds, we use Rideau Bakery Twisted Egg Bread in this recipe. It’s baked in the challah tradition, with a slightly sweet taste and tender crumb. If you don’t happen to have challah bread on hand for this French toast bake, you can also use brioche, which is similarly sweet and eggy, or, for something firmer, French bread or sourdough. The bread can be a bit stale as well, to better soak up that luscious custard. 

Eggs: A necessary ingredient in any French toast casserole is eggs. These act as the binders for the bread cubes and provide richness.  

Whole Milk: For adding moisture to this challah French toast bake, you’ll need milk. We don’t want this brunch dish to taste dry, so we opted for our Farm Boy™ Organic Whole Milk in this recipe. It’s delivered fresh from Ontario Dairy Farmers and is packaged in a reusable, returnable glass bottle. 

Vanilla: An ingredient that adds a warm, cozy, homey depth of flavour is vanilla. You can use a vanilla bean paste, seeded vanilla bean, or pure vanilla extract for this recipe.  

Cinnamon: For even more warmth, we used cinnamon in this recipe. This is a classic spice that appears in plenty of baked brunch dishes (cinnamon rolls, anyone?). The cinnamon is added to the custard mixture to add more complexity to it. 

Nutmeg: The final spice we’ve used in this dish is nutmeg. We chose to grate whole nutmeg in this recipe. You can absolutely use pre-ground nutmeg, but grating it fresh makes it a little more assertive in flavour. 

Sugar: We chose granulated sugar for this recipe, as it dissolves well into the custard mixture. However, if you only have brown sugar on hand, that would be fine in this recipe as well. You can even opt to sprinkle a little extra sugar on top of the French toast casserole for an added crunchy texture. 

How to Store Challah French Toast Bake 

This recipe is at its best when enjoyed the day it’s baked However, if you happen to have leftovers, you can still keep them. Store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days for the best flavour and texture. 

To reheat and enjoy again, warm them in the microwave or, to crisp them up a bit, heat them in an oven at 325°F until warmed all the way through. 

More Sweet Breakfast Options from Farm Boy 

Looking for more sweet breakfast recipes? Check out any of the dishes below! 

Wild Blueberry Baked Oatmeal 

Apple Pancakes with Warm Apple Cider Sauce   

Mixed Berry Strata 

Banana Pancakes with Banana Caramel Sauce 

Sumo Citrus and Pecan Scones 

Berried Dutch Baby Pancake 

Banana Berry Crêpes with Creamy Filling