Pear and Gruyère Strata

By spleen12781

Think of this as stuffed French toast in a casserole. Here, sweet cinnamon bread meets juicy pears and the savory bite of Gruyère cheese. You want a pear variety that will hold its shape and won't exude too much moisture as the strata bakes--we liked Anjou and Concorde.

Ingredients

• 4 cups sliced peeled Anjou or Concorde pear
• 2 teaspoons butter, melted
• 6 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
• 12 (1-ounce) slices cinnamon swirl bread (such as Pepperidge Farm), cut in half diagonally
• Cooking spray
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese
• 1 1/2 cups 1% low-fat milk
• 1 cup egg substitute
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw)
• 1/2 cup maple syrup

Details

Servings 8
Preparation time 20mins
Cooking time 80mins

Preparation

Step 1

1) Combine pear, butter, and 1 tablespoon sugar in a large bowl; toss gently.

2) Arrange half of bread in an 11 x 7-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. Spoon pear mixture evenly over bread; top evenly with cheese. Arrange remaining bread over cheese.

3) Combine the remaining 5 tablespoons granulated sugar, milk, egg substitute, and cinnamon, stirring with a whisk. Pour milk mixture over bread, pressing down to submerge. Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight.

4) Preheat oven to 350°.

5) Uncover dish. Sprinkle turbinado sugar evenly over bread. Bake at 350° for 55 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes. Cut into 8 equal pieces; drizzle with syrup.