French Toast (with casserole variation)

2.25 cups plant milk of your choice (soy is my go-to)

1/4 cup chia seeds (whole or ground into a fine meal) 

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

optional 1 tsp vanilla

optional 1 tsp cinnamon

optional 1 tbsp liquid sweetener (such as maple syrup or agave)

8-10 slices bread (stale or sturdy bread is best, some softer breads come out soggy)

Put all ingredients except bread in a quart glass jar. Place a lid on top and shake to mix into a batter. Let rest 10-20 minutes while the griddle heats up. Give a good shake one more time before transferring batter to a shallow dish (sized to accommodate the bread slices).

Heat griddle or fry pan on medium to medium-high heat. Grease heated griddle with 1 tbsp pad of vegan butter. 

Dip each slice of bread in the batter to coat and place on the griddle to cook until golden brown on each side (3-4 minutes each side is a good estimate). Rustic, sturdy, dry, or gluten-free bread can be left in the batter for 20 seconds on each side to soak up enough batter. Fresher, softer bread just needs to be coated on each side before transferring to the griddle.

Optional toppings: sprinkle on some vegan powdered sugar, drizzle on maple syrup, fruit of about any type, fry some banana slices on the griddle to go with, etc.

Variation: for a savory version leave out vanilla, cinnamon, and sweetener to be able to add some garlic, ginger, chilies, dash of cumin/coriander, turmeric, or salt to taste.

French Toast Casserole:

Half a loaf of french bread, or other bread equivalent, cut into cubes. 

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup melted vegan butter

Batter from above

For best results, cube your bread the night before and spread out on a cookie sheet to dry. Especially if its fresh.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Grease a 13x9-inch casserole dish and set aside. Melt butter in a saucepan and stir in brown sugar until it dissolves. Pour mixture into bottom of casserole dish. Add bread cubes to the casserole dish, spreading out evenly. Drizzle batter on top of bread cubes, coating evenly. Sprinkle with more cinnamon and/or brown sugar if desired. 

Bake for 25-30 minutes until top is golden brown. Remove from oven and sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.