Name: Breakfast Italian Sausage and Pepper Strata
Yield: Serves 6 to 9
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 5 cups [230 g] large, torn chunks of artisan bread (sourdough and full-flavored crusty breads are optimal; feel free to use a variety); ½ tsp fine sea salt; 1½ tsp dried oregano; ⅓ cup [75 g] heavy cream; 1½ cups [340 g] whole milk; Olive oil, for sautéing, if needed; 1 lb [455 g] ground sweet Italian sausage; 1½ cups [210 g] thinly sliced white onion; ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper; 3 large eggs; ½ cup [40 g] grated Parmesan cheese; ½ cup [110 g] thinly sliced roasted red peppers; ½ cup [40 g] grated Provolone cheese; ½ cup [40 g] grated Cheddar cheese

Strata, a savory bread pudding, shines on days like Christmas when you want a special breakfast but don’t want to spend the morning tethered to the kitchen, potentially missing out on all of the fun. This recipe does require some advance prep the day before, but in the morning, just pop it into the oven to bake and get right back to peeking in the stockings—you’re less than an hour away from an egg-cellent breakfast.

We make ours with sweet Italian sausage, roasted red peppers, and