Bostock

Bostock is a French pastry that's like a hybrid of French toast and almond croissants. It's made with slices of frangipane-topped bread that are baked until caramelized. Frangipane is a soft, sweet almond cream that is used in many French desserts, including pies and tarts. For bostock, the frangipane is baked right onto bread, transforming the cream into a crispy layer of almond-flavored deliciousness.

As it cooks in the oven, Bostock is easier to make for a crowd than French toast—there's no standing at the stove cooking each slice individually. In true French fashion, the dish is typically made with brioche but you can use any type of rich buttery bread, including challah. It's also usually made with day-old bread, making it a handy recipe to keep in your breakfast repertoire.

Key Components (and Ingredient Swaps) for Bostock

The bread: We recommend using sliced brioche for bostock, but you can swap in another sweet, enriched bread like challah or Japanese milk bread instead. If possible, use day-old bread as it will absorb the syrup better, giving you the best finished flavor and texture.

The frangipane: Frangipane may sound fancy, but it's really just a blended mixture of pantry and baking staples like almonds, sugar, flour, butter, and egg. Almond extract and a touch of rum add a lovely depth of flavor to the paste. You can use amaretto, an almond liqueur, in place of the rum or leave it out all together.

The syrup: A quick simple syrup, made with sugar, water, and a vanilla bean, soaks into the bread, giving a sweet vanilla flavor to the finished bostock. If you can't get your hands on a vanilla bean, add 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste when making the simple syrup.

The Equipment You Need to Make Bostock

It only takes 20 minutes and you need just a few basic pieces of kitchen equipment to get bostock ready for the oven. Here's what you'll need:

Saucepan: A small saucepan is used for the vanilla simple syrup, which you'll brush on each slice of bread before topping them with frangipane. The simple syrup calls for only one-half cup each of sugar and water, so use the smallest pot you have.

Food processor: To make the frangipane for this recipe, you'll need a food processor. First, the toasted almonds are processed with sugar until finely ground, then the other ingredients (butter, egg, salt, flour, and almond extract) are incorporated until the frangipane is creamy and smooth.

Baking sheet: Unlike traditional French toast, bostock is baked in the oven on a parchment-lined baking sheet. You can use a rimmed baking sheet or a cookie sheet for this step as long as it's large enough to hold eight slices of bread.

Pastry brush: A pastry brush is used to coat the brioche with simple syrup before baking. If you don't have a pastry brush, you can scrunch up a coffee filter and use it to brush on the syrup instead.

How to Prepare Bostock Ahead of Time

To get a head start on preparing bostock, you can make the frangipane up to one day ahead and refrigerate it, covered, until you're ready to use it. The vanilla simple syrup can be made up to one week ahead and stored in the refrigerator as well.