All French toast recipes work better with day old bread. But if you need to dry a fresh loaf to make stale bread, I’ve found Alton Brown’s method to be the best way. The option I use most often is to lay the fresh bread on a rack over the baking sheet and bake at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15-20 minutes, until the bread is dried but not browned. (time will vary, depending on the freshness of your bread and moisture content).