I’ve been making this strata for years and like all good recipes, it has evolved. My most recent discovery is the second baking–cutting the cooked strata into squares and baking them again. This second baking causes the exterior to crisp up and the interior to remain moist and creamy. These pre-cut and baked strata squares also make for easy serving.
Since you’ll likely be serving this dish to a large group, better to keep the strata simple–just eggs, cheese, bread, and milk–and get creative with the side dishes. For the holidays, consider serving a festive ham, vinaigrette-tossed salad greens, and platter of colorful, seasonal fruit.
PrintThe Simplest, Best Strata
Just as the recipe title suggests, this strata utterly simple and its texture and flavor are perfect. Serve it as part of any festive brunch gathering. You can add other ingredients–cooked sausage, mushrooms, peppers for example–but unless you know your crowd’s tastes, it’s best to leave simple.
- Yield: 12 to 16 1x
- Category: Brunch
Ingredients
1 quart half and half
1 dozen large eggs
1 teaspoon salt and several freshly ground black pepper
2 large baguettes (scant 2 pounds), torn into bite-size pieces
12 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated (about 3 cups)
1 large bunch scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
Instructions
Whisk milk, eggs, salt, and several grinds of pepper until smooth.
Spread half the torn bread in a 13- by 9-inch pan.
Pour in half the egg mixture and then sprinkle half the cheese and scallions over the bread.
Make another layer with remaining bread, egg mixture, cheese, and scallions
Let stand, occasionally pressing on bread, until it has absorbed the milk mixture, at least 15 minutes, but way better if you have time to refrigerate it overnight.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Bake until custard is set and strata is golden brown and puffy, 50 minutes to 1 hour.
Remove from oven, let stand for 8 to 10 minutes, and then serve immediately.
For even better strata, cool completely—you can even refrigerate or freeze it. Shortly before serving, halve the strata, crosswise, removing each block of the custardy bread from the pan.
Cut each half into 8 squares.
Place strata squares on a greased rimmed baking sheet and bake until crisp and deep golden brown, about 20 minutes longer.