Monkey Bread French Toast (Kneaders Chunky French Toast Copycat) Recipe posted by Pin Share Tweet Email Jump to Recipe SomethingSwanky is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. If you love French toast, you’ll flip over this recipe for chunky, overnight, baked French Toast! This is the superhero version of your favorite breakfast toast made with THICK slices of monkey bread, delicious cinnamon and brown sugar swirled throughout, and an unbelievable caramel syrup to top it off. If you’ve never had Kneader’s Bottomless French Toast, then you haven’t lived! It’s only the all-time best breakfast food to ever grace the planet. And I’m not exaggerating. Basically, what you’re looking at here is the thickest EVER French toast. And it’s not made out of regular slices of “thick” bread. Oh no. This French toast is made out of big, thick, fresh slices of monkey bread. You know what I’m talking about right? If you’ve never had monkey bread, check out my Cinnabon Monkey Bread and then get right back here. Because if you think monkey bread is good, BUCKLE UP– this Monkey Bread French Toast is going to blow. your. mind. With French toast this thick, you can’t simply dunk it in a milk-egg mixture and plop it on a frying pan. You’d end up with an egg-y, undercooked mess! Instead, we’re going to simply pour the milk-egg mixture over the bread and let it soak overnight before baking it. Essentially what I’m saying is: not only does this French toast taste better than any other French toast you’ve ever had in your life– it’s actually EASIER to make too! I adore overnight French toast. It’s easy, it’s classy for a crowd, and it always melts right in your mouth (this Overnight Blueberry French Toast OMG). If you’ve had the privilege of eating Kneader’s French Toast, then you know it absolutely must be served with homemade whipped cream, a sliced strawberry, and their signature caramel syrup. Promise me you won’t make this French toast only to top it with maple syrup and canned whip cream. Promise me!! If you’re going to the effort of making the monkey bread from scratch (which we are), waiting overnight for the bread to soak (which we are), then you have to, have to, have to get the full experience and eat it with the whipped cream, the strawberry, and the caramel syrup. It’s just so, SO worth it. I hope you love this gem of a recipe as much as we have. And if you’re ever out in Utah, be sure to drop by a Kneader’s Bakery for brunch! Continue to Content Monkey Bread French Toast Yield: 8 thick slices If you love French toast, you'll flip over this recipe for chunky, overnight, baked French Toast! This is the superhero version of your favorite breakfast toast made with THICK slices of monkey bread, delicious cinnamon and brown sugar swirled throughout, and an unbelievable caramel syrup to top it off. Print Ingredients For the Bread Dough: 1 tbsp active dry yeast 1 cup warm water (think warm bath water) 1 tbsp sugar 1 tsp salt 2 tbsp vegetable oil 2 1/2 cups flour For the Monkey Bread Coating: 1/3 cup butter, melted 1/2 cup sugar mixed with 1 tbsp cinnamon For the French Toast: 6 eggs 2-1/2 cups milk 1 tbsp brown sugar 3/4 tsp salt 1 tbsp vanilla 2 tbsp butter, cubed Caramel Syrup: 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup heavy cream Instructions Make the Monkey Bread Loaf: Preheat oven to 350ºF. Proof the yeast using the oil and sugar. Mix the salt into the flour in a stand mixer bowl. After the yeast has proofed, add the yeast mixture to the flour. Knead with bread hook until a dough forms, and then continue kneading for an additional 5-6 minutes until dough is elastic. Cover and let rise for about 10 minutes. Prepare a loaf pan by spraying generously with nonstick cooking spray and lining it with parchment paper. Divide dough into 32 small pieces. Dip each piece into the melted butter, and then roll the buttered piece of dough in the cinnamon sugar before placing it in the prepared loaf pan. Repeat with all the remaining dough. Bake loaf for 30 minutes, or until golden brown on top and feels set in the middle. Let cool COMPLETELY before slicing into 8 slices. Prepare the Baked French Toast: Generously spray a 10x15 baking dish with cooking spray and layer with parchment paper. Layer the 8 slices of bread into the prepared dish. Whisk together the eggs, milk, brown sugar, salt, and vanilla. Pour mixture over the bread slices. Layer the cubes of butter over the slices of bread. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for several hours or overnight until all of the liquid has been absorbed by the bread. Preheat oven to 350ºF and bake for 30-45 minutes until golden brown. Make the Caramel Syrup: Over medium-high heat, whisk together the brown sugar, butter, and heavy cream. Bring to a boil and let boil for 3 minutes without stirring. Remove from heat immediately and serve over French toast. About the author Related Posts How to Store Coffee Cake: Freeze & Preserve Your Streusel Treat Cashew Substitute: Vegan Options for Cashews in Cream Recipes How to Prevent Slips and Falls in the Kitchen: A Guide Substitute for Mint: Best Fresh and Dried Substitutes to Use
Awww, no breakfast for dinner? That’s my favorite dinner of all time! I haven’t tried making french toast with really thick bread, but that sounds amazing. Sometimes those thin slices just turn too soft and soggy, especially with how much syrup I like to drizzle on top. 😉 You take such gorgeous photos too; they really look divine!
This looks incredible!!! That’s awesome that Kneaders shares the recipe and bravo to you for making it! Gorgeous shots with the syrup and the pour shot. Pinned!
It’s true. I have never been to Kneaders in the morning and seen anyone order anything besides this French Toast. I don’t even know why they bother putting anything else on the menu. (PS I lived in Utah for 7 years too! Bless your little heart for getting us this recipe. You are pretty much awesome.)
Okay, now I am REALLY regretting that it was closed on Sunday! This French Toast looks amazing…how long until the next SLC conference again?
This looks amazing! I just have one question: Do you bake the french toast in the mixture or drain it before baking it? I baked it in the mixture and it seemed a bit soggy, but maybe it’s supposed to be? I was just wondering! Thanks! 🙂
The idea is that the bread is so thick that it easily soaks it all up… so maybe your bread wasn’t thick enough? Which is actually ok (to use thinner bread), but you wouldn’t want to use all of the egg/milk mixture in that case. Did you use store bought bread or the bread from this recipe?
Thanks for your reply Ashton! 🙂 I did use the bread from the recipe and it got super thick after soaking up a lot of the mixture overnight, but there was still about a good 1/2 inch or so of mixture left in the 9×13 baking dish when I baked it. Maybe next time I will try cutting the egg-mixture in half and see how it turns out! The flavor was phenomenal though! I could probably just eat the bread all by itself. 😉
I make this a lot (it’s a favorite for Christmas Morning) and I don’t pour the mixture over the top. I did that the first time and it was a soggy mess. Now, I just do a quick dip (it’s amazing how much it absorbs in that quick dip!) with each piece before putting it on the pan, then discard the remaining egg mixture. So good!
Wendy- Do you use parchment to bake the French toast or just the bread? Or both, maybe? I’m trying to avoid soggy French toast and will probably do the same as you with just dipping the bread into the egg mixture.
