Pumpkin French Toast

by on October 12, 2009

Post image for Pumpkin French Toast

As much as I enjoyed the summer, for some reason I couldn’t be happier for the arrival of autumn. The seasons don’t really change here in San Diego but the temperature does slip below 75°, the locals return to the tourist attractions without long lines and folks switch out their white shorts for khaki. It’s how we know autumn is here.

I mostly look forward to autumn for the food. Pumpkin tops the list of foods I pretty much only eat at this time of year.  Pumpkin French Toast was a real hit in our house – homemade pumpkin yeast bread cut into fun pumpkin shapes, soaked in a spiced egg batter and grilled on the panini press (grill marks make them look even more like pumpkins, right?).

Pumpkin Yeast Bread

When I first came up with the idea to grill Pumpkin French Toast, I envisioned baking some kind of pumpkin yeast bread – the more orange in color the better. Fortunately, King Arthur Flour had such a recipe on its website. It was the perfect opportunity for me to re-enter the world of bread baking.

As you might recall, I’m taking part in the Bake Your Own Bread (BYOB) Challenge this year. Even though I haven’t been baking as much of my own bread as I’d originally intended, I must say that participating in the challenge has helped me to conquer my fears in this area. I just followed the King Arthur recipe as closely as I could and – voilà – I had a lovely, gently spiced, deep-golden loaf that was going to make excellent French toast.

Between the cardamom and ginger in the pumpkin bread itself and the maple syrup, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice in the egg batter, this French toast was a real blast of autumn flavor. Of course, this didn’t stop us from drizzling on a little more maple syrup when it came time to partake of this harvest.

Pumpkin-shaped bread - it's more fun that way!

Pumpkin French Toast

Makes 6 slices


2/3 cup whole milk
4 eggs
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 slices Pumpkin Yeast Bread , 1/2″ to 3/4″ thick (optional: cut into pumpkin shapes)*


Preheat the panini grill to medium heat.

In a shallow bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, maple syrup, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Dip bread slices into the egg batter until they’re thoroughly saturated.

Place the bread slices onto the panini grill (depending on the size of your grill you may need to do this in batches) and close the lid so that it’s touching the tops of the bread without pressing them. Grill 2-3 minutes until a crisp, golden crust has formed on both sides. Serve immediately with maple syrup.

* Ideally, bake the bread a day or two in advance – it will absorb the egg batter better if it has time to dry out a little bit.

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{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Kevin October 12, 2009 at 6:42 am

Pumpkin french toast sounds good and making it in a panini press is a nice idea!


2 Maria October 12, 2009 at 7:28 am

I love the pumpkin cut outs! too cute! This sounds like the perfect fall breakfast.
.-= Maria´s last blog ..Pasta with Slow Roasted Tomatoes, Artichokes, Zucchini, and Roasted Red Peppers =-.


3 Bellini Valli October 12, 2009 at 8:12 am

To make French toast, and pumpkin French toast at that on the panini grill is a stroke of genius.


4 Lori @ RecipeGirl October 12, 2009 at 8:45 am

Love this idea! I was thinking Pumpkin French Toast would be good with some sort of pumpkin bread as a base. Nice job 🙂
.-= Lori @ RecipeGirl´s last blog ..Apple Pie Bars (For Fall) =-.


5 Mara October 13, 2009 at 8:21 am

Looks fantastic, and as soon as I’m reunited with my bread pans and kitchen, I’ll be sure to make it! One question – are those real pumpkins in your photos? They’re perfect, and I love the burgandy one… if it’s real, what kind is it?


6 Kathy October 18, 2009 at 8:38 pm

Hi Mara – Sorry for the delayed response…the little pumpkins are actually just decorative, from Michael’s. Thought I’d try and get a little festive! 🙂


7 Laura October 13, 2009 at 8:46 am

wow, this looks amazing. I don’t own a panini press, but I’ll definitely try this on the stove.
.-= Laura´s last blog ..Pie for breakfast =-.


8 Q. October 13, 2009 at 2:02 pm

LOVE this idea! I bet it tastes amazing.


9 Jul October 13, 2009 at 6:18 pm

Wow! Looks scrumptious. Will give this a go on my George Foreman!
.-= Jul´s last blog ..Whole wheat beer bread =-.


10 pigpigscorner October 14, 2009 at 1:32 pm

wow..this is yum!!
.-= pigpigscorner´s last blog ..Daring Cooks – Vietnamese Beef Pho & Spiced Sweet Potato Dumplings =-.


11 Amanda October 15, 2009 at 10:48 am

Genius!! Brilliant! I must try this!!
.-= Amanda´s last blog ..How I Wish =-.


12 Pam October 15, 2009 at 3:39 pm

They look so cute and sound really delicious.


13 maris October 18, 2009 at 8:36 pm

Mmm this sounds amazing. I love all things pumpkin!
.-= maris´s last blog ..It’s The Great Pumpkin: Pumpkin Bread Recipe =-.


14 Kat October 1, 2010 at 1:25 pm

I am a pumpkin freak! This looks incredible!
Kat´s last blog post ..Mixed Greens with Olive Oil and Parmesan


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