Cinnamon French Toast Casserole

This was one of the dishes from Colin's First Birthday Party, and it was delicious!  Perfect for entertaining, it's best if you make it the night before, and then pop it in the oven in the morning.  I did a trial run a few weeks ago (always a good idea when testing a new recipe for a party), and cut the bread into all these little cute triangles and stood them up in the dish.  It was kind of a disaster, because not enough bread was down in the bottom to soak up the custard and the tops of the toast were all dried and overly crispy.  Lesson learned, though, and this batch was great. 

Cinnamon French Toast Casserole
inspired by Smitten Kitchen

1 loaf of cinnamon swirl bread
butter
6 large eggs
3 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Generously butter a 9x13 baking dish.
Cut the slices of cinnamon bread in half lengthwise and arrange in two layers in the dish.  I slightly overlapped each piece so I used 6 full slices (12 halves) in each layer.
In a bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt and vanilla.
Pour evenly over the bread.
Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Bake for 30 minutes, uncovered, until bread is puffed and golden on top and the custard is set.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes before slicing.
Serve with butter, syrup and fruit, if that's how you roll.