French bread bake

Prepare everything the night before so it’s ready to put in the oven on Sunday morning. The dish is deliciously crisp on the outside and creamy inside.
Cut the French loaf diagonally into 1 cm thick slices. Butter the bread lightly and arrange in neat layers in a medium-sized buttered ovenproof dish.
Beat the milk, eggs and seasoning together and carefully pour over the bread. Cover and leave overnight to soak.
The next morning, preheat the oven to 180 ºC (350 ºF). Coarsely chop the bacon and sprinkle over the bread.
Bake for about 30 minutes, then drizzle generously with maple syrup and bake until the top is crisp and brown.
Allow to cool slightly and serve with more syrup if desired.