Comfort Bake Breakfast Casserole
When I first saw the recipe that inspired this it had a lot fewer ingredients and was intended as a snack. I stepped it up a few notches and made it a breakfast feast.
When I first saw the recipe that inspired this it had a lot fewer ingredients and was intended as a snack. I stepped it up a few notches and made it a breakfast feast.
- 1/4 cup milk
- 5 eggs
- 16 oz refrigerated breakfast biscuits (i used the pillsb
- 4 scallions (green onions spring onions, whatever you prefer to call them)
- 1 cup shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
- if you’ re into the meats – cooked center cut bacon or cooked sausage
- 11 ×17 pan sprayed with cooking spray (note: i think a 9& 13 works better, but might need to bake a little longer)
- Carbohydrate 0.734333333715432 g
- Cholesterol 156.100000000845 mg
- Fat 3.96966666694141 g
- Fiber 0 g
- Protein 4.93466666693887 g
- Saturated Fat 1.32280000015766 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (122g)
- Sodium 55.3333333367147 mg
- Sugar 0.734333333715432 g
- Trans Fat 0.649033333365287 g
- Calories 58 calories
Step-by-step
- Mix your eggs and milk in a large bowl. Cut each biscuit into fours and add it to the bowl. I like to do this before I cook the bacon or cut up the scallions – give the biscuits some time to really soak in the eggs.
- Cut up your scallions, shred your cheese, cook and break up your bacon (or sausage). Add everything to the bowl. Re: the cheese – my home economist mother tells me that pre-shredded cheese is coated with something or other to keep it from clumping. A. Gross, B. If you shred it yourself it will melt better.
- Mix it all up and pour into your pan. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes (make sure it isn’t runny – mine this morning took 28 mins).
Why does soaking raw biscuit pieces directly in an egg and milk mixture create a cohesive strata rather than soggy dough floating in scrambled eggs? Starch molecules in commercial dough granules absorb the surrounding liquid proteins during the initial resting phase. Letting the cut dough sit in the liquid allows the starches to hydrate before thermal energy is applied. Without this crucial rest, the exterior proteins of the egg would coagulate too rapidly at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, forming an impenetrable barrier that prevents moisture penetration and leaves the center of the starch raw.
Protein Coagulation and Dairy Fat Distribution
Whole milk introduces water and lactose alongside emulsified fat globules that physically interrupt tight egg-protein matrices. This interference keeps the baked custard tender rather than rubbery. Sharp cheddar cheese contributes both casein proteins and dairy fats that melt into the surrounding starches, bridging the gap between the flour structure and the lipid-rich bacon or sausage fats. Shredding blocks of cheese manually avoids the potato starch or cellulose coatings found in commercial pre-shredded varieties, ensuring proper emulsification without grittiness.
Thermal Control and Moisture Management
Overbaking remains the primary hazard when combining leavened doughs with delicate custards. Baking times must be monitored closely around the 25-minute threshold to prevent the exterior edges from drying out while the center finishes setting. Visual inspection is more reliable than strict timing here; probing the center confirms the absence of liquid egg without relying solely on a timer. Utilizing a standard 9-by-13-inch pan rather than an oversized 11-by-17-inch vessel concentrates the depth, allowing uniform heat transfer through the layered starches and dairy.
