Ingredients

• 1 loaf of challa or brioche
• Nutella
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• pinch of salt
• 3 tablespoons turbinado sugar (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Cut bread into slices and cut each slice in half. Spread each half slice with a generous swipe of Nutella and sandwich with other half of slice. Tuck Nutella sandwiches into a greased ovenproof dish alternating cut-side up and down.
3. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the eggs. Add milk, vanilla extract, orange juice/zest, and salt. Whisk until foamy. Pour over bread. Move the pieces around every 10 minutes or so to make sure all sides are soaking up the liquid . Let the sandwiches soak in the liquid for about 30 minutes total. You want the bread to be wet but not soggy and falling apart. When you put the dish in the oven, the sandwiches should be resting in a small pool of the liquid but not drowning in it. You might need to pour off a bit of the liquid if there's a large pool left.
4. Sprinkle turbinado sugar all over the top. Bake until the bread is puffed up and golden (30-40 minutes) and the custard is set. You might need to throw it under the broiler* for optimum crispy crunchy caramelized beauty. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and eat while warm. This recipe heats up nicely.

Notes