Milk toast is an old fashioned breakfast dish that is so easy to make! I love having bread soaked in milk. This recipe uses toasted cinnamon sugar brioche bread.
What is milk toast recipe?
Did you ever eat bread soaked in milk growing up? I don't know if this is a thing, or if it was just our family.
But as kids, when we wanted a quick breakfast or snack, we simply tore up sandwich bread ate them soaked with milk. Often times, I'd top my bowl of milk toast with a spoonful of sugar on top too.
It was a very simple (and cheap) dish I learned to make when I was very little. But I loved how the soggy bread melted with every bite, and the little crunch of sugar that came at the end.
Then, I'd gulp down every last bit of the sweet milk.
Classic bread and milk from my childhood: Tear up a slice of white wonder bread and toss the pieces into a bowl. Pour on enough milk to cover it all. Sprinkle on a spoonful of granulated white sugar.
Is that something you've had before? I've asked my friends, but non have the same memories.
For this recipe, I took that old simple idea of bread and milk, and jazzed it up a little.
If you love old fashioned breakfast recipes like this one, The Breakfast Book is one of my absolute favorite cookbooks. It's filled with an array of comforting breakfast recipes that you'll want to make over and over again.
How to make (fancy) bread and milk
Don't get me wrong. I love the classic bread and milk from my childhood. But I wanted to turn it into a milk toast recipe that is just a bit fancier and brunch table ready.
To do that, I experimented with:
- The type of bread to use
- Toasting or grilling the bread
- Adding cinnamon sugar on top
Best bread for milk toast
I tried a number of different breads for this classic recipe. Here are my thoughts:
- White sandwich bread: Good, soggy. This will always be a classic when untoasted.
- Wheat sandwich bread: Not recommended.
- Sourdough bread: Not recommended. The crust never softened enough, the bread broke apart instead of getting pillowy and soft, and I didn't like the taste.
- Challah: Soaked up just the right amount of milk. This is my second choice.
- Brioche: Soft, sweet and almost custard like when it soaked in the milk. Perfect!
The best bread for milk toast: Brioche bread.
Grill the bread in a bit of butter
While the classic recipe from my childhood just requires soaking plain sandwich bread in milk, I find that grilling the bread in a bit of butter gives it a delicious richness.
To do so, I melt a bit of butter in a frying pan, then simply grill and toast the bread in it until the slices are slightly golden on both sides.
I toast the bread slices whole (instead of cutting it into cubes then toasting), because once toasted and cut into cubes, having 2 sides of each bread cube toasted gives this milk toast just enough texture.
Add cinnamon sugar on top
While the bread is still hot, I sprinkle on a mixture of cinnamon sugar. The sweet smell of toasted bread with cinnamon sugar is so comforting!
But if you don't like cinnamon, you can keep it plain with just granulated sugar. Or a touch of nutmeg is also good.
Once the cinnamon sugar is sprinkled on top, then cut the bread slices into cubes.
Warm or cold milk?
I prefer my milk toast with cold milk. I think the warm pieces of the brioche bread takes off just enough of the cold edge from the milk.
How to serve bread and milk
The way I serve bread and milk in these pictures is to pile all the toasted bread cubes into a bowl, then pour on cold milk.
Another way to enjoy this breakfast is to dip the warm bread in warm milk piece by piece as you eat it.
Personally, I like to soak the bread in the milk so it softens and pillows. If you find that too soggy, then by all means, enjoy this breakfast as bread dipped in milk.
Either way, I think you'll love this comforting milk toast recipe. It's such a simple breakfast that is oh so comforting.
Make this milk toast recipe for a quick breakfast
I hope you think of this milk toast recipe anytime you are looking for a quick breakfast. It shouldn't take more than 5 minutes to throw this recipe together so it's great for weekday mornings.
If you ever find yourself wondering how to use up milk or leftover bread, I hope this recipe comes to mind too.
Enjoy!
P.S. If you love the idea of cinnamon toast in milk, don't miss this Cinnamon Toast in Cereal Milk, which is a twist and homemade version of a cinnamon toast crunch cereal.
Milk in Toast
Print Recipe Save RecipeIngredients
- 2 1-inch slice brioche bread
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- sprinkle ground cinnamon
- whole milk - for serving
Instructions
- In a large skillet on medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add in the brioche slices and toast until the bottom is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip, and toast the other side until golden brown, about 2 minutes.
- Sprinkle on the granulated sugar and cinnamon. Cut each toast into 9 cubes.
- Add the toast cubes into a 2 bowls and serve with milk.
MaryAnne says
We called this, 'Soaky pokey ' in my home when I was growing up in the 50's & 60's. I don't know where the name came from
Tina Jui says
I love that name!
Natasha says
Yes I had this as a child growing up as well but with warm milk and we would put butter on top of the bread so it would melt when you poured the warm milk over it. My German grandmother made it for me and she called it a weird name and I never asked her the spelling but phonetically it is “angubugudus” - I can’t find anything about this particular name anywhere and am wondering if anyone else reading this has heard it???
Lakesha says
First time trying it was delicious me and my son loved it
Jon says
As a child I had a bad sore throat a lot. My mom made toast with jelly and poured milk on it. I did the same with my kids and as adults they still do it when they have a sore throat
Nasim says
Salam i had this experience when i was child. A time My grandmother prepared warm milk and sugar and bread. In Iran we have kind of bread called Lavash. It’s thin and so delicious. And completely different from your common bread. We ate it for dinner just one time in my life but it’s taste was one of my best memories. Thank you for your nostalgic recipe.
AmberLynn says
Just made this for the first time ever. I'd vaguely heard of it, but I just got my tooth pulled and on the care instructions it lists suggested foods and it was on there and decided to try it. I enjoyed it a lot. I just melted butter and then grilled toast. Then added sugar and cinnamon, cut and added the milk. I only has 1% but I think with whole it would be even better. 4/5 Will devour again!