bread casserole

I love to bake bread and I love to eat bread.  The problem is that I sometimes go overboard with the baking of bread and I end up with leftovers that the family cannot finish.

What do I do with the leftover bread?

This is a perfect recipe to use when you have leftover bread and a bit of this and a bit of that in terms of ingredients.  Toss everything together and you get a wonderful bread casserole!

Note: This recipe yields a substantial casserole, so do cut down the recipe if you wish to bake a smaller casserole.

INGREDIENTS

8 eggs

2 cups low fat milk

2 cups grated mozarella cheese

freshly ground black peppercorn (to taste)

freshly ground white peppercorn (to taste)

freshly ground sea salt (to taste)

1 tsp dried mixed Italian herbs

assorted ingredients (I pretty much add whatever is available in the kitchen, eg. sausage, mixed greens, frozen spinch, ham, surimi, fresh Shitake mushrooms, onions, etc)

6 slices thick bread (cut into large cubes)

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

2. Line a 13" x 9" casserole dish (or, in this case, I used a 9" x 9" square baking pan) with aluminium foil. Set aside.

3. Beat the eggs in a large bowl until frothy.

4. Add the milk and cheese and mix well.

5. Add the black peppercorn, white peppercorn, sea salt, mixed dried Italian herbs and ingredients and mix well.

6. Add the bread and carefully stir until all pieces of bread are moistened (do not overmix otherwise the bread may disintegrate).

7. Pour into the prepared casserole dish / baking pan.

8. Bake for 50 minutes to an hour, until the top is browned and the centre springs back when touched.

9. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

TIPS

This casserole goes well with a bit of Dijon mustard or tomato sauce by the side.