Baked French Toast - Not Soggy, Just Right!

DD#1 requested last night my infamous, scrumptous Baked French Toast for breakfast. This quick and easy, ace-in-the-hole dish satisfies both the sweet tooth and breakfast mogul...excellent preparing ahead for a holiday brunch too or just company. For best tasting, let bread soak in wet mixture overnight in the refrigerator and pop it in the oven in the morning.

I have made them (like this morning) without preparing ahead of time overnight and they are just as delicious.

I love to hear about your experience if you give this a try especially any modification you apply.

Oh...sidetrack from the recipe, here are some interesting declassified FBI readings for history buff like me.

Ingredients:
1/2 loaf of bread (I used oatnut for ours, you may use white, french, sour dough, whatever your choice of preference)
3 eggs
1 C half-and-half
1/2 C milk
1 T granulated sugar
1 t vanilla extract
1/4 t ground cinnamon and nutmeg each
A pinch of salt
(You may double all ingredients above except for cinnamon and nutmeg--we like ours freshly made--whenever possible and without company--so small batch works well.)

Toppings (Prepare in the morning)
1 stick butter
1/2 C Packed light brown sugar
1/4 C Chopped walnut or pecans (OPTIONAL)
1 T brown-rice syrup (corn syrup is fine)
1/4 t ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg each
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and blend well.

In a large bowl, combine all main ingredients except for bread and topping and beat with a whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Dip bread slices individually in wet mixture to insure all are covered evenly with mixture. Arrange bread in a generously buttered 9x13" flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices if you like. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

Next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Rearrange bread slices so they no longer overlap in as many baked dishes as needed. Underlaid slices remain soft not toasty if overlapping. Spread Topping evenly over bread slices and bake for 50 minutes, or until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with or without maple syrup.