The only question that I can answer is about how long to soak the bread. I like for the bread to be totally saturated w/ the egg mixture but, ouch, eggs are pricey. And I don't use sugar in the egg mix. Never heard of that; is it common to do & I'm just a dummy?

I do not soak the bread as I don't like soggy/custardy French toast and it takes much longer to cook that way, too. I do a quick and complete dunk to thoroughly coat the slice but not soak in that much. I am planning to make some French toast today from a gifted loaf of Portuguese sweet bread that will go to waste otherwise. I would guess 5-6 eggs per loaf if you don't do a long soak.

Sounds delicious. I also like a bit of orange zest added to the egg mix. I also use sugar but I often eat French toast with just butter and no syrup (I don't eat soggy bread, ya know) so I like the hint of sweetness.

I make it ahead and freeze it.

I love to make French toast even though my strange kids won't eat it.

I too have never put sugar in the egg mixture. Just beat some eggs and add a splash of milk. I also don't soak the bread because it will fall apart!

I am confused about your dessert -- fruit cocktail and mixed veggies?? My kids wouldn't touch mixed veggies but they are not adventurous eaters.

Way back in another life I use to belong to a boat club that held many, many fund raising breakfasts. The big events were in the winter when all the snow mobilers and ice fishermen would run up the river for their breakfast.

When we made French toast we used a ratio of 2 eggs to a cup of milk for every 8 slices. Always added a bit of vanilla but never sugar. We also found it was important not to let the bread soak very long mostly because we wanted to stretch the egg mixture but also because "custardy" French toast doesn't hold well in the oven. At least that was our experience.

Not how I make it for my family but it worked when we serving upwards of 200 hungry people!

OOPS!!! Frozen mixed fruit!!!
I always put sugar and vanilla in the soaking liquid....and often cinnamon.
Haven't heard about flour in the mix yet....may have to make me some French toast and try it out.
Anyone ever do that? It would be more like a batter dip than the traditional way.

Thank you Chase....that was just what I wanted to know! did you cover it in the oven? Stack them up or lay flat? and how long would they hold in the oven and still be good?

Linda you are really stretching my memory as this was almost 30 years ago.

For sure we didn't stack them, that's for sure. I'm also pretty sure we left them uncovered.

I'm guessing at how long we held them. We had a kitchen full of boat club members working in the kitchen so that the stock was replenished fairly quickly after the people started arriving. The first few batches probably held about 30 mins so we were prepared for the first onslaught. The last batches would have have to have held longer so we could serve those last minute stragglers!

I also use one egg to half a cup of milk and always add a pinch of salt, a little vanilla, a little sugar - helps with the browning, and a little cinnamon. I think orange zest sounds yummy.

I use a small baking dish with inch high sides that probably holds 10 diagonally cut French bread slices. I put the 10 slices in the mixture, turn them over and by the time I have turned the tenth piece the first three or four are ready to go in the pan.

I don't cover them in the oven but I am only cooking for two. I think you might want to loosely cover large pans. I wonder if a 320 oven is to hot to hold them; I keep mine hot at 250. I've only frozen the leftover cooked pieces and they are not quite as good as fresh.

I hope you have help! I'm sure it will be a fun time and that your efforts will be appreciated by all.

Lee

You are amazing Linda!

I'm just "soaking" it all in so I'm not much help as the largest group I've made for was 20. I don't add sugar to the custard but do add maple syrup which would really up your cost.

Cathy

Thanks....I'll aim for 250 or so....and be sure the convection feature isn't turned on!
I am hoping a cup of syrup ought to be enough for 6 or 7 kids.....and worrying about the little sausages...I have enough for 65 kids to each have 6...but that will have to be monitored as I know the 14 year old boys will want to pile their plates!
I know the kids will eat about anything but spinach if it's drowned in syrup or "Ranch" they don't seem to have any idea that it goes on a green salad as well as on pizza! But I try to think of nutrition as well as food they like, so I always serve milk, while others who cook serve that powdered lemonade stuff. Last week the meal was walking tacos with a bag of Fritoes, some ground meat, salsa and sour cream, with country Time lemonade and cupcakes. One other time it was frozen chicken nuggets, canned corn and instant mashed potatoes....again with powdered lemonade.
So bread and syrup with a little egg and milk doesn't seem too bad! But fruit for dessert would be a good thing!

I love french toast. I usually put vanilla or cinnamon in mine. I have not tried the sugar. I like a lot of egg, but not eggy french toast. I don't want to soak, mine, just in and out. I like it nice and browned on the outside. A good skillet is handy. I like the electric ones. I have two of them. I fixed a big breakfast a year ago New Year's day for I think 14 of us. We had a lot of other stuff too, scrambled eggs, pan cakes, bacon, biscuits, gravy, and I can't remember what all. I used bread from Meijer called Texas Toast and it is thicker slices. I had put the bread the night before on a cookie sheet and put them all in the oven to sort of dry out. Dryer bread I think makes a bit better french toast. Let us know how your meal turns out Lindac. I am sure it will be really good.

Sue

Not much can be added to what Chase, Lee and Barnmom said, just one idea which might make the cooking process less work. Can french toast be baked? I don't know but it would be an easy experiment to find out.

The fruit salad with mixed veggies made me gag. Glad you changed that. :-)

I agree that 320 is more of a cooking temperature than a keep warm temperature. I think you could go as low as 200. Two eggs per cup of milk sounds right, but I would be guessing. It's basically custard, isn't it?

Your mega-meals are a challenge to plan. I like hearing about them.

Jim

P.S. My thought about baking is an alternative to using skillets or griddles. If you have a big restaurant type flattop grill, you're all set.

Jim

I don't know if it can be made in an oven, but I know it can be made in advance, frozen and reheated in an oven...

Steve

Some of the French Toast recipes I have call for the egged bread to be in a 9x13 dish, & baked at 350 to 400 degrees 20-25 minutes. And yes, some of the recipes call for sugar in the milk & egg mixture.

Those kids are going to be so happy, lindac, & full!

Thanks...we have 2 of those stoves that have a center griddle...made by GE.....and several electric griddles.
Baking would be a good idea bit I don't think it would brown and I don't think kids will eat "soggy bread"....someone who will perhaps be helping suggested that over night breakfast Creme brulee french toast....but I don';t think we have the refrigerator space to cook that for 65 people.
All my good right hand people are down south out of the snow....so I am worrying about someone to stand cheek by jowl and fry toast with me!
Now another question....
figuring 4 slices per person....the slices will be about 5 inches in diameter and just under an inch thick, and figuring 10 eggs per quart of milk, how many dozen eggs and gallons of milk will I need? I am trying to think of about 1 egg per kid...if each kid eats 4 slices....some will eat less and some more...but?
I think I am wishing I had taken Algebra II instead of Latin III!

Linda, to the baking alternative--could you use coolers to keep the Creme Brulee refrigerated overnight? That would keep you from frying day of.

Whoa, you have lots of snow. Can you keep the pans on an enclosed porch or something of that nature?

Here are two guesstimates, using different assumptions. Both however are based on a ratio of two eggs per cup of milk. Is that a good ratio?

3 slices of bread per person
1 1/2 eggs per person or 65*1.5 = 97.5 eggs Say 8 doz. eggs
2 eggs per cup of milk or 96/2 = 48 cups = 12 quarts milk

4 slices of bread per person
1 egg per person or 65 eggs Say 6 doz. eggs
2 eggs per cup of milk or 50/2 = 25 cups = 6+ quarts Say 7 quarts milk

I don't know which is the more reasonable guess. Maybe split the difference or just go with the larger amounts and expect a bit left over.

Jim

Isn't there some kind of French Toast casserole you could make and bake in large pans? Assemble and shove into the oven to bake while the sausages are cooking?

Here you go, and the quantities for 65 right in the recipe.

Here is a link that might be useful: French toast for 65

I agree that the baked french toast posted above would be much simpler for the quantities you need. Also, 6 sausages per person is too much, IMO. Two or three is plenty.

This calls for adults serving the plates for portion control - been there, I know whereof I speak. Just be sure everyone is fed first before you offer seconds to those with hardy appetites.

I'm enjoying reading this discussion, because if I had to make French toast for a crowd, I'd ask lindac how to do it!

Please give us your final recipe/ratios/reports, and good luck with the project.

According to that nifty interactive recipe my first estimate is too high by 100%. LOL!

I have to wonder though. All the recipes I scanned are stated in terms of number of servings. Do they mean a serving is the average amount a person will consume in one meal? Or do they assume a person will consume two or three servings in one meal?

For the sake of pride in my estimating ability I hope its' the latter. ;-)

Jim

Just a thought on keeping the cooked French toast warm...

lay the FT on cookie sheets with sides and with the rack in the oven at the lowest level, stack the cookie sheets . The first going into the oven length ways ans the next going in horizontal and resting on the first. Keep stacking until you are a couple of inches from the top of the oven. A 200 degree oven will be plenty warm.

Not sure I'd worry about a fruit cup but if budget allows, I would have real OJ available instead.

Nancy

Well here's my take on the servings..I have an almost 18 yr old..he'd eat no more than 3 slices of french toast and maybe 4 little sausages (If he was really hungry.)
My 12 year old would likely eat 1 or 2 slices and maybe 1 or 2 sausages..now my 9 year old might have 2-3 slices and if he liked the sausages...2-3 of those.

I think you are are over planning the serving sizes.

I've been working on a French toast recipe, and I finally wrote it down last Saturday - sorry I didn't log in all week-end. Here's what I use for two people:

2 eggs
2/3 cup water
2 tbsp oat flour
2 tbsp unbleached wheat flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
4 slices bread
butter, for frying
maple syrup, at serving

I used bread that was already sweet and already had cinnamon in it, and if I hadn't, I would have added cinnamon and sugar to the batter. This French toast really required syrup when serving, as it is not good plain, but it is excellent with syrup. I let the bread soak for as long as one piece is cooking, and I cook the toast on an iron skillet at medium heat for 2 minutes a side (and I do use a timer, to make it easier). Then I move the toast to a 220° oven to keep warm, and this holds up really well in the warming oven. I use oat flour for flavor, since I don't use milk, but if you use milk, you can use wheat flour instead.

I only just last Saturday got the proportions down the way I like it. I save some of the batter to pour on top of the bread after I have put it in a shallow bowl for soaking. I really like making the toast without milk, but as I said, it does need the syrup when being served.

I created this recipe to use up bread that I didn't like (because it was sweet and had cinnamon!).

Lars

I agree, you are over estimating the serving sizes. Amanda at her hungriest would eat three slices of french toast, Ashley's never eaten more than two. Bruvver would eat one and about 10 sausages, LOL.

I think 6 sausages is too many and I agree, you need servers. A couple of pieces of french toast and two or three sausage for the first serving, serve everyone and then let people come back for seconds.

What in the world could you do with leftover french toast was my first thought...

Annie

About the sausages. Linda said she's getting the little smokey sausages. I take that to mean something similar to little smokies. I don't think six of those is too many. Cocktail size.

I too think a french toast casserole is the way to go. I don't know why the recipes always call for soaking overnight. Maybe it just came about as part of prepping ahead for things, but it's really not necessary. You know how fast bread absorbs liquid. If you wanted to do the casserole you could just let them soak for about an hour and then bake. It would be so much easier and I think it would be worth it to add an hour to your morning prep to do it that way. You could soak and bake in the time it would take you to prep and grill all those slices. It also would make the serving somewhat easier.

Well...I have recruited the help of "The dietitian!"...my friend and often co-cook, who knowas lots about amounts etc...
My other side kick, the caterer, is on the gulf coast!
The bread is not regulart bread but unsliced French bread....about 4 to 5 inches in diameter, and the sausages are those little smokies cocktail things, on special for super Bowl sunday!
In a meeting of the minds, with The Dietitian and me, we decided that 5 eggs per pint of milk should be about right. And we figured out we wanted to use one egg per 3 slices of bread. so I will buy 6 dozen eggs and 2 gallons of milk, realizing that some kids will want "vanilla milk" instead of chocolate.
And we will monitor the intake of the little smokies.
We will buy canned peaches and have fresh pineapple, bananas and grapes (the grapes weren't my idea)...some fruit will be donated...like bananas and a pineapple.
I have 3 "fryers" abd others to do the dishing and pouring milk etc.
And I just had an email saying that about 5 choir members will come early for practise so they can eat....will I have enough?
Sure I said!
The baked stuff in theory sounds easier...b ut for that nunber...it's really easier to fry and slap on platters in the oven, and put the plattersd on the table as needed, than to construct 10 casseroles.
BUT....I won't be buying eggs nor nmilk nor the fresh fruit until we see what the weather is!! not supposed to be bad....but the reason I am cooking this week is because there was a weather cancellation and the person who was supposed to cook, can';t...

OK, so if the sausages are those little cocktail sized sausages, six might not be too many, I was thinking "smokey link" kind of size, about the size of my index finger.

I agree, LindaC, I think if you have help, cooking the french toast and keeping it warm is probably your best way to keep it fresh. So, are you going to serve it with syrup and butter, or sprinkle it with powdered sugar?

Oh yeah, a zillion kids and powdered sugar, now THAT'S a bad idea. Fun, but bad. (grin)

Annie

Nope....we'll do syrup.
Part of the "thing" about this Wednesday night thing is to provide a learning experience about family meals. The kids ages 8 through 12 or so all sit at a table with a "table parent" we serve on platterf family style....they wait until all are seated then there is a blessing...and the food is passed. So....we will put a reasonable amount of sausages on each table and a small pitcher fo syrup and a platter of French toast and maybe a bowl fo fruit...but maybe serve the fruit in "non-green" plastic cups!
We have stacks of corion serving bowls.
Still snowing.....
Linda C

I understand what size the sausages are, and still stand with the amounts above my boys would eat.

We'll see...I have 6 grand sons...I always get out 2 pounds of these sausages for the start of Christmas about 45 little sausages..lunch/brunch...they are all gone before I blink....and I have lots of other food as well.
The last time my son and his 3 boys came...I cooked up a pound which is about 45 bitty sausages....and again they disappeared in a blink before they even had the car unloaded....bring in a bag...pop a couple of sausages...another bag...2 more sausages...
Terri, you have polite boys! LOL!
I really belive I could have twice as many little smokies and there would be none left...

Just a thought on the serving size... if you go thru McDonalds for pancakes and sausage, you get 3 pancakes (approx 5" wide) and one sausage patty.

If you put the stuff on a platter and put it on the table for them to self-serve, their eyes are always bigger than their stomachs. They're going to take more than they need.

that's what nthe table parent is for.....to see that they divide what is on the platter fairly...it's part of the learning experience. there is enough for everyone, if no one takes more than they need.
a platter of food to serve 7 us easier to figure out than a line to serve your self at a buffet table. where it seems you should take unlimited amounts.