Preheat the oven to 250°F / 120°C (conventional oven). Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper and place a wire rack on top.

Slice the bread loaf into ¾ - 1 inch thick slices. Store-bought will work, but use a sturdy bread. I use my brioche bread recipe here, but you can use my Japanese milk bread recipe as well.

Cut off the crusts to form a rectangle of bread. Then cut the rectangle into 2 - 3 sticks (depending on the size of each bread slice).

Place the bread slices on the wire rack and transfer the baking tray into the preheated oven. Bake the slices for about 10 minutes, or until they feel stale and a little dried out. Be careful not to let the bread slices brown or dry out too much.

Remove the tray from the oven and allow the brioche to cool down to room temperature before dipping in the custard. You can also do this step the day before you need to make these French toast sticks.

In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch with just enough milk to create a smooth paste with no lumps. Place this in a shallow dish that's suitable to soak the bread sticks.

Add the rest of the milk into the cornstarch slurry, while whisking.

Add the eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla, zest, and spices (if using). Whisk until the eggs have no “gloopy” texture. Let it rest for about 5 minutes (ideally).

STICK BLENDER - You can also place all the ingredients in a taller container and use a stick blender to blend the ingredient together to form a smooth mixture. Let it rest for 5 minutes and then pour it into the shallow dish.

Soak each bread stick in the custard for about 10 seconds, per side. The soaking time will depend on the thickness and staleness of the bread sticks. They should be fairly saturated without becoming floppy or breaking apart.

Once each piece is soaked, remove it from the custard and place it on the wire rack again. If the bread breaks apart, then the bread was soaked for too long and you must shorten the soaking time.

Repeat with all, and let the bread sticks sit on the wire rack for about 5 - 10 minutes to absorb and distribute the custard properly throughout the bread. This will prevent the custard from pooling in the pan when you're cooking them, AND create a more evenly soft, custardy center that is not soggy.

Preheat the oven to 300°F / 150°C (conventional oven).

Preheat a large non-stick skillet or griddle on medium heat. The heat level might be different depending on your stove.

When the pan is hot, add a little butter to the pan and let it melt and spread it on the bottom of the pan. Place the custard soaked brioche bread sticks on the pan, taking care not to overcrowd the pan.

Cook the bread sticks for about 2 minutes. The bread sticks should slowly caramelize and turn golden brown in that time. If the bread is caramelizing too fast, then turn down the heat. If the bread is caramelizing slower, then increase the heat a little.

Flip the bread sticks over and cook for another 2 minutes until they are caramelized on the other side. Add a little butter to help add color to the other side as well (optional, but recommended).

Place the caramelized French toast sticks on the wire rack.

Repeat with the rest of the pieces. Make sure not to overcrowd the pan when frying the French toast sticks.

Once they have all caramelized on both sides, place them all on the wire rack that's on top of the half sheet baking pan.

Place the baking pan in the preheated oven to cook through the French toast. This will take about 15 minutes.

Remove the French toast sticks from the oven and let them rest for just a few minutes to cool down slightly.

Serve your French toast sticks while warm. They can be plated individually or on a platter with a variety of dipping sauces and sides. See the post for serving suggestions and options.