Pain Perdu (“Lost Bread” or Baked French Toast)

The evening before you want to serve breakfast or brunch:
Slice one good, long French baguette into 1½ or 2” slices.

Butter one side of the bread with softened unsalted butter (@ ½ stick) and place, buttered side up into a buttered baking pan.

Whisk together 2 large eggs, 1 2/3 cups whole milk, and one teaspoon vanilla, and pour over bread.  Cover and chill overnight.

In the morning, bring mixture to room temperature. The bread should have absorbed all of the egg/milk mixture. (If bread is still firm and not completely saturated, mix together another egg with ¾ cup milk and ½ tsp. vanilla; turn each piece of bread over, and pour the mixture over, until fully saturated—then turn bread back over—with buttered side up).

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Sprinkle bread tops with 3 Tablespoons raw or granulated sugar.

Bake, uncovered, for about 25 minutes, until Pain Perdu is puffed and golden brown on top.

Serve hot with real Michigan maple syrup.

This will serve 6-8 people, depending on the size of the baguettes.  Double, triple or quadruple. Serve a big bunch of hungry people.