French Toast

French toast is a staple of my brunches. Unlike things like omelettes, waffles, and pancakes, French toast can be made ahead and reheated. In fact, I prefer my Frnech toast baked in the oven a bit. I don't want soggy bread. Also, the inherent breadiness of French toast makes it an ideal vehicle not just for maple syrup, but things like macerated strawberries. The difficult thing about writing a recipe for French toast you can add more egg-milk mixture if you run short so you never really think of how much of anything you need. Here's my attempt. Please let me know if I am off on any amounts.

1 loaf of challah bread or a good thick baguette
3 eggs
1 cup of milk
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 pinch of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 pinch of salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoon cooking oil

Slice challah crosswise into 1/2 inch to 1 inch slices. The trick here is how far ahead you want to make these. If you are serving immediately, slice closer to 1/2 inch to reduce time in the oven. If you are reheating later, make it thicker to reheat without drying out. Melt the butter in the microwave and add the cooking oil. In a separate bowl, whisk together the rest of the ingredients. In a baking dish, arrange the slices in one layer and pour the egg-milk mixture on top. Let soak anywhere between two and five minutes. Dribble some of the butter-oil mixture into a skillet and spread around. Fry slices of soaked bread for about a minute on each side. Bake for about five minutes on a greased cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven to firm up the middle. If reheated later, bake for about 10 minutes. Maple syrup is good, but macerated strawberries rocks my world. Just hull and slice a pint of strawberries, add a teaspoon of sugar and a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar (I kid you not) and mash them a little to make the strawberries release some juice.