Breakfast Bread Pudding

This classic American layered cheese dish may have first appeared in Juniata L Shepperd’s 1902 Handbook of Household Science in the cheese chapter. She called for slices of bread to be layered with shredded cheese and white sauce, then topped with crumbs and baked.

Cut to: 1993 in Chicago Illinois I was writing a brunch menu for the soon-to-open Zinfandel restaurant and recreated this historic recipe using aged American country ham, artisanal Wisconsin sharp cheddar and handfuls of fresh herbs. It was easy to assemble the day before and the guests loved it. We served it with a field green salad dressed with a sharp red wine-mustard vinaigrette to cut the strata’s richness and renamed it Breakfast Bread Pudding.

Makes 8 servings
Ingredients

8 ½” thick slices brioche or other rich bread, crusts trimmed

5 ounces thinly sliced American dry-aged country ham

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

¼ cup chopped chives

¼ cup sliced basil leaves

4 large eggs

2 Tablespoons grainy mustard

2 cups whole milk

⅛ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Method
Spray an 8”x 8” square baking pan with pan primer spray and fit 4 slices of the bread into the pan, trimming to fit in one layer.

Layer half the ham slices evenly over the bread and sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese. Sprinkle half the herbs over the cheese.

Repeat layering using remaining bread, ham, cheese and herbs.

In a medium bowl whisk the eggs and mustard until light and frothy. Add the milk, salt and pepper and mix well.

Slowly pour the custard over the bread, filling the pan. Wrap pan in plastic wrap and refrigerate pudding 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 325 °F.

Bake pudding until puffed and golden brown, and a knife inserted near the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.

Let pudding rest 15 minutes before slicing. Wrapped in foil, pudding will hold its heat for an hour or so.