Quick & Easy French Toast Casserole

My daughter wanted french toast for breakfast so I took out the huge frying pan and then I thought.....I don't want to stand at my stove and make french toast for everyone and then they are all done eating while I'm still cooking.  So I decided to make a casserole instead.  The only problem is usually you need to soak the bread in the custard overnight before you bake it and I needed something to be done from start to finish in 30 minutes.  So I decided to break the french toast casserole rules and just wing it.  It came out delicious and you would never know that it wasn't soaked overnight. 

Ingredients:

4-5 cups of torn challah bread (or any thick sliced bread)
5 eggs
2 cups milk
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup maple syrup

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Grease 9x13 casserole dish.  Pour about 1/2 cup of syrup in the bottom of the casserole dish.  Layer torn bread on top of the syrup.  In a large bowl beat eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, salt and cinnamon.  Pour egg mixture evenly over bread in casserole dish and press bread down to make sure it's completely soaked.  Drizzle remaining syrup over top of bread and custard.  Bake for 30-40 minutes until casserole is puffed up and golden brown on top.  Remove from oven and drizzle additional maple syrup on top and serve while hot.