Egg, Cheese and Bacon Breakfast Strata

Post date: Apr 4, 2016 8:48:59 PM

• 16 oz. bacon, diced
• 6 eggs
• 1¼ cups milk (full or low fat)
• ¼ tsp salt (ordinary table salt) or ½ tsp sea salt flakes or kosher salt
• Black pepper
• 7 cups (lightly packed) gluten free baguette / french stick cut into 1 inch cubes (preferably slightly stale)
• 2 cups grated cheddar cheese (Note 1)
• Parsley, finely chopped (garnish - optional)

Instructions

1. Heat a large non stick pan over high heat. (Use a bit of oil if not using non stick). Add all but 2 tbsp of bacon (reserve for topping) and cooked until lightly browned. Remove from the fry pan and drain on a paper towel.
2. Whisk the eggs, milk, salt and pepper in a bowl.
3. Place the bread in a large ziplock bag. Pour in the egg mixture, 1½ cups cheese and bacon. Seal and massage the egg into the cubes. Set aside in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (until all the egg is soaked into the bread) or overnight.

To Cook

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Spray a 8" spring-form cake tin (Note 2). Pour the bread mixture into the cake tin, pat down to compress and scatter with remaining ½ cup cheese. Cover loosely with foil or with a pan lid.
3. Bake for 25 minutes, then remove the lid and bake for a further 10 minutes until bubbly and golden on top.
4. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before removing the spring-form and cutting into slices to serve. Garnish with parsley if using.

Notes

1. You can substitute with any other flavored melting cheese eg. tasty, gouda, Monterey Jack.

2. If you don't want to make this in a spring-form pan, use an 8x8 square baking dish. Also, you can mix the bread and egg mixture straight into the baking dish instead of in a ziplock bag. The ziplock bag is used to prevent egg mixture from leaking from the spring-form pan while it is set aside.