Bringing ingredients to room temperature takes longer than you think, so set your stuff out early.Image via Tiny Test Kitchen

They also recommend using 1/3 cup of milk to every egg in the soaking liquid. A custard that’s heavier on the eggs produces a firmer, chewier slice of French toast, while more milk gives that desirable custardy feel.

Here’s a tip: if you forget to set out your ingredients ahead of time, no problem. Run some hot tap water into a large, shallow container. Pour your milk into a tall container or glass (if it has a cover, even better). Place the container and your eggs in the hot water. The eggs will take about five minutes to get warm. The milk will take a little longer.

Use Only Egg Yolks, Not Whites, in the Soaking Liquid

Meanwhile, the folks at Cook’s Illustrated go one step further and say that you should only use egg yolks for the soaking liquid. Egg whites contain the sulfur compounds that give eggs their distinctive taste. Yolks alone are pretty much fat (as well as a lot of vitamin A, calcium, and iron), which will make your French toast taste ultra rich. If you’re not sure how to separate eggs, never fear: there’s an easy way.

Egg yolks solo have a lot going for them.Image by Jose115/Shutterstock

Frankly, I’m agnostic on this point—I think there are good arguments to be made for using the whole egg, since incorporating the whites usually means you have a firmer slice of toast that fries up nicely and holds its shape. Also, I’m not a big fan of egg white omelets and I don’t always want to make meringues, so separating the eggs means that most likely the egg white will go to waste, which I abhor.

If you do decide to use the whole egg, make sure you don’t skip the next step. It makes a huge difference.

Strain the Custard!

Slate recommends straining the soaking liquid before you put your bread in it, and I heartily agree. No matter how well you whisk, sometimes lumps of egg white remain in the custard. That means a few slices will end up coated in egg white rather than custard.

Those excess bits of egg hanging off the French toast are also known as feet in cooking parlance.Image via Porridge and Parsnips Ever noticed that pool of egg that sometimes extends from the bottom of your slice of French toast? That’s often unincorporated egg white. It’s also known as the “foot,” a term which is often used for macarons, too. When you take the time to strain the soaking liquid, you make sure that every piece of bread will be able to absorb that rich, flavorful custard you created. Opt for Full-Fat Dairy in the Custard