This Is The Only Bread I'll Use For French Toast (And It Comes From Trader Joe's!)

As a breakfast food lover, I take my French toast very seriously. It's my barometer for how good a brunch place is, and I love pulling out all the stops for it when I'm serving it at a special event or family gathering. All that's to say, I know what separates a good French toast bread from a great one, and what to look for when selecting the perfect one for your recipe. And one Trader Joe's loaf in particular gives all of the brands I've ever tried a run for their money.

Trader Joe's seasonal maple streusel bread has all the makings of a fantastic French toast selection, so much so that I would argue that the product alchemists at TJ's HQ made it with this sole use in mind. Each slice is about the size of your palm — not overly large, but also not measly — and features a delectable ribbon of maple butter and cinnamon flowing through it. Normally, maple-flavored bread is just a suggestion, but Trader Joe's absolutely slathers the outside of its loaf in maple butter (the ingredient list includes maple syrup, but I do think its creaminess is at maple butter level), which gives it a sugary and almost dairy-butter-like finish, essentially negating the need for added syrup. This flavorful, sugary seal, paired with its somewhat dry interior that can easily soak up custard, makes it the ideal bread for French toast — and the one that I will shamelessly stockpile three loaves of in my freezer just for making this classic breakfast. 

Part of the appeal of this bread, I find, is that it's fleeting. When Trader Joe's starts to unveil its fall products for the year, I'll make the one-hour pilgrimage to my nearest store to stock up before it's too late. The bread freezes remarkably well, which is good news considering that it's usually sold out by the time I have a chance to pay the store another visit not long after. 

When I prepare this bread for French toast, I like to leave it out on the counter for a little bit so it can defrost and stale (dry bread is your friend for this dish) before whipping up a rich custard with another secret ingredient: eggnog. Leftover eggnog enhances the creaminess of the maple butter and, paired with an extra dose of nutmeg, cardamom, and plenty of cinnamon, it makes one of the best French toast renditions I've ever had. Compliments to the chef — I know.

Sure, you can peruse the Trader Joe's bread aisle to try and find something that mimics a similar mouthfeel to this bread (I will admit that the seasonal pumpkin brioche bread comes close), but without that captivating layer of maple butter on the outside, it's not even worth it. Other stores might try to riff on maple streusel bread, but nothing comes close to this truly one-of-a-kind Trader Joe's product.