Gruyere & Bacon Stuffed French Toast

Breakfast is not my favorite meal of the day. However, it is my hubby’s favorite hands down. If you are curious, mine would be dinner with a whole bunch of small plates. Albeit, I do eat breakfast everyday to get fuel for the day – typically a Greek yogurt along with a banana or berries.

Since hubby likes to go out for breakfast on the weekends or have me create a “full” breakfast on the weekends, I do have a few favorites including French toast. I love the custard consistency along with a crispy outside of French toast and of course, the rich maple syrup that goes along with this delightful weekend treat.

Early in our relationship, I made Grand Mariner French Toast for my hubby. My hubby never had French toast like this before, since I use thick sliced French bread. The thickness of the bread helps to absorb the luscious custard which produces a decadent and satisfying breakfast. I think my hubby had grown up on sandwich bread dipped in an egg mixture; did not take long for him to be converted.

For me, it all starts with the bread, whether it is a Semifreddi's sour dough loaf or a crunchy & chewy ciabatta, the richness of the bread makes all the difference. Next comes the rich custard with egg, half & half along with real vanilla extract - sometimes a bit of triple sec adds that extra special punch and flavor.

Taking it to the next level is stuffing your French toast with various fillings. Perhaps with ricotta and blueberries or mascarpone and orange zest OR gruyere and bacon stuffed French toast? Lately I am a bit obsessed with the later of my variations; hence I wanted to share with all of you. It is something I have been making for quite sometime and perfected the combination over time. The combination of smoky bacon, earthy gruyere, dense sourdough bread, rich custard, sweet maple syrup and hint of cinnamon is an explosion of amazing flavors all in one bite.

Just imagine all of the wonderful flavors and textures you can stuff your French toast with. Would love to hear all of your wonderful ideas for what you would stuff your French toast with!

Gruyere & Bacon Stuffed French Toast

Makes 4 Slices

4 Slices, good sourdough bread (about 1 1/4th inch thick)
8 Bacon Slices, Cooked until crispy and crumbled
1 C. Gruyere Cheese, grated
Cinnamon dusting French toast
Butter for cooking French toast

Custard

2 Eggs
1 C. Half & Half (could use whole milk or 2% milk)
1 t. Vanilla

Once you have the sour dough bread sliced, you will want to with a sharp knife cut into the bottom of each slice and gently slice to almost the end of the top and sides to create the pocket to stuff each slice.

Add the cooked bacon once cooled and gruyere cheese together in a bowl. Divide evenly among the four slices of bread and begin to gently stuff each one. Once you have completed, then gently press each stuffed bread together to prevent the inside ingredients from escaping.

Prepare the custard by adding the eggs, half & half and vanilla together and whisk gently until combined.

Use a large griddle to cook all of the French toast at the same time. Heat griddle on medium and add approximately 2 tablespoons of butter to the griddle and spread evenly. Meanwhile dip each stuffed bread into the custard mixture and add to the heated griddle. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Let cook over medium for about 5 minutes per side – if your cook top runs hot, you may want to reduce the heat to prevent burning.

Serve with your favorite maple syrup. To make more, simply double or triple the recipe to serve the desired amount of guests. Enjoy!!