Rework Leftover Challah Right into a Candy, Custardy Breakfast Casserole

A big, golden loaf of challah is superb. The Jewish bread—a staple for Shabbat and holidays— is enriched with eggs and oil, and its plush crumb makes it notably scrumptious for consuming by itself or turning into French toast. As a toddler, I watched my mother make challah from scratch; she’d fastidiously braid the dough, then set it apart to proof earlier than baking. I eagerly tore into the loaves once they have been simply out of the oven, relishing every chew of the tender, freshly baked bread. Although I nonetheless love challah and eat it steadily, I hardly ever bake it at residence. To satiate my challah cravings, I usually purchase massive loaves on a whim, which leaves me with greater than sufficient bread to eat for weeks.

Some individuals may wrap up the additional bread and stash it of their freezer, or flip the loaf into breadcrumbs, French toast, or croutons. I, nevertheless, favor to show my challah right into a custardy breakfast casserole for my family and friends. Made with just a few fridge and pantry staples, this straightforward dish—which is packed filled with dried fruit and topped with a easy streusel—takes all of quarter-hour to prep earlier than you pop it into the fridge to sit down in a single day. For that cause, it’s my go-to breakfast for holidays and particular events when I’ve loads of individuals to feed, but it surely’s straightforward sufficient to make any time you might have challah—whether or not leftover or bought only for this bake. Right here’s how one can make it, plus some suggestions for getting it good.

4 Ideas for Making a Tender Challah Breakfast Casserole

Don’t fear about drying the bread. Many French toast, casserole, and bread pudding recipes name for stale or dry bread, however in my testing, I discovered little distinction between the casserole made with recent bread and the one ready with older bread. Utilizing drier bread could also be useful for French toast, as recent bread can crumble simply after soaking. However that does not matter right here, since there’s no dipping and frying concerned.  So use no matter bread you might have readily available, whether or not that’s recent or stale. 

Attain on your favourite dried fruit. For a contact of sweetness and a pop of shade, I incorporate dried fruit into my casserole. I like to make use of apricots, cherries, golden raisins, and cranberries, however you should use no matter dried fruit you might have readily available or customise the combination to create the flavour profile you need. Generally, I make a hamantaschen-inspired casserole through the use of prunes and poppy seeds or give it Rosh Hashanah vibes with recent chopped apples. For a post-Pesach weekend brunch, I’ll swap the almond extract for an additional teaspoon of cinnamon and toss in walnuts and apples for a taste that’s paying homage to charoset. 

Soak it in a single day. After I first began making this challah breakfast casserole, I par-baked it the night time earlier than, then popped it into the oven to complete baking the morning I needed to serve it. It was my go-to methodology, till my testing revealed that an in a single day soak resulted in a softer casserole with a custardy texture. It could be tempting to skip the in a single day soak, but it surely actually is value taking the time to let the bread sit within the custard for a young, scrumptious casserole with no dry spots.

Prime it with a streusel. For further crunch, I high my challah breakfast casserole with a easy streusel of flour, brown sugar, and butter. Although I favor to make the streusel topping in a meals processor, you may also make it by hand by tossing the dry elements with butter till it’s a crumbly combination. The topping brings a satisfying crunch and simply sufficient sweetness, making it pointless to serve the casserole with a sauce or syrup.