Can You Really Make French Toast In The Microwave?

Nothing makes a Saturday morning like a fresh cup of coffee and a plate of French toast. It's buttery, it's drenched in maple syrup and powdered sugar, and it has this custard-like texture with a subtle egg flavor to it. Although French toast doesn't have roots in some high-cuisine breakfast in France (instead existing long before France was even a country, according to The Breakfast Shoppe), it's undeniably a delicious, easy, and cheap breakfast that is enjoyed as a morning treat all across the world.

Although French toast, at its most basic, is simply bread dipped in milk, eggs, and cinnamon and topped with maple syrup, there are many different ways one can go about making it. You can experiment with different types of bread, for example, switching out the usual sandwich bread for something like Brioche bread as Robert Irvine does (via Food Network) or sourdough. When you prepare the custard "bath," you can substitute whole milk for heavy cream and half-and-half if you want a thicker custard (via Martha Stewart). Even adding something like fresh fruit and whipped cream onto your French toast helps to make it stand out. 

But for all the different variations of toppings and substitutions, there's probably one way you know how to make French toast: Toss the bread in the pan and let it cook until it's golden brown on both sides. While this is a tried-and-true method, there's another way that you can prepare French toast quickly and easily.

When you prepare French toast the traditional way using the pan, the bread gets a noticeable "crust," or firmness to it, alongside its golden-brown sheet and warm pillow exterior. When you imagine using a microwave, you probably imagine the bread getting chewy and rubbery as it heats up, considering the microwave isn't known for making food crispy. But it may be possible to prepare French toast in the microwave if you were to follow these steps.

According to Tara Ippolito of HuffPost, cut the bread up and put the slices or cubes into a microwave-safe container. Then, pour your usual French toast ingredients like the milk and beaten eggs into the container. Microwave the container for anywhere about two to five minutes, during which the French toast (or technically French toast casserole) will come together. While this sounds like an easy method, are the end results really worth it? A review on a recipe for microwaved French toast on Food.com seems to indicate that it actually works, although it does imply that the French toast may not have been as soft as it would be otherwise.

It certainly wouldn't hurt to try it in the microwave, considering the relatively few ingredients and preparation needed to do it. You may find that the pan method is the only method for you, or you may find that the microwave method is a much more efficient process. 

Let's say that, although you like the idea of having French toast faster than how you would normally prepare it, you're still not sold on the microwave. What if there was a way to combine the speed of the microwave, but still get that classic crisp but fluffy French toast taste? Could the air fryer be a solution to your problems, or is it best left to preparing appetizers?

The Recipe Critic explains that it's not only possible to make French toast in the air fryer, but it also gives it a perfect texture perhaps even more so than the oven. To prepare French toast this way, prepare your custard and soak the bread in it like you usually would, but lay the bread in the basket of your air fryer. Set the temperature to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and cook the bread for three to five minutes. Flip the bread over and then finish cooking for another three to five minutes. It is recommended that you don't drench your bread too much in your custard mixture, as the hot air of the air fryer may blow it around the basket. 

Each method has its own unique benefits in both cooking time and texture. It's all up to you on how you want to make your French toast, whether it's making Brioche French toast in the air fryer or using up some old sandwich bread in a pan full of butter and cinnamon.