So if you had four cups of bread, you'll want two cups of milk and two cups of eggs (about eight large eggs—to measure eggs by volume, simply crack them into a measuring cup until the total amount of eggs reaches the desired point). Pour the milk and the eggs into a large bowl and whisk until they're well combined.
3. Flavor your liquid base
Season your egg and milk mixture with some salt and pepper and whatever else you want it to taste like: a spoonful of mustard, a splash of hot sauce, a pinch of paprika, or a whisper of nutmeg. Consider some finely chopped fresh rosemary or thyme, or a grating of lemon zest. Whisk it all together. If you're cool with raw eggs (I am), have a taste and then adjust the seasoning.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell
4. Use About the Same Volume of Shredded Cheese as Milk
You need some cheese in there to get everything cheesy and delicious, right? Your strata can hold up to equal parts cheese as milk and eggs. If you want a little less cheese (who are you?!) you can use a bit less. So if you used two cups each of milk and eggs, use about two cups of shredded cheese. Any meltable cheese will work here: Monterey Jack, mozzarella, cheddar, fontina or gruyère. You can also add some crumbled fresh goat or blue cheese or grated Parm or sliced Brie for flavor—just make sure to pair it with a mild meltable cheese like Monterey Jack or mozzarella for the best strata texture. When you've picked and measured a cheese, toss it with the bread in the pan, leaving a handful behind to scatter on top before baking.
5. Add Some Extras
If you want your strata to have more going on in it than eggs and cheese (you might not), you can add up to equal parts add-ins as cheese. Only rule here is that unless it's a tender fresh thing like scallions or asparagus, the add-ins should be cooked and cooled completely before added to the strata. Fry up some sliced bacon or some sausage pieces, or cut up a ham steak. Or how about some sautéed cherry tomatoes and/or mushrooms? You're in charge. Right now I love the combo of cheddar cheese, ham, and scallions with a good dose of dijon mustard in the liquid base. I'm also always into the combo of fried mushrooms, tomatoes, and bacon with fontina cheese, red chili flakes, and fresh thyme. Mix your cooled add-ins into the bread and cheese mixture.
