Life with a baby means meals are often thrown together without much thought. Breakfast especially gets the shaft around here- I’m lucky if I get to scarf down a yogurt with my morning coffee. Anything I can do to do any advance prep makes my whole day start on a good note. Freezer to toaster oven is especially convenient which is one of many reasons I adore this recipe.
If I were hosting a brunch party I would love this to be front and center. It is everything good: crispy, crusty bread full of salty bacon, fluffy scrambled eggs, grated cheddar cheese and in my case some sautéed peppers. It is of course customizable and would be wonderful with any other meats, cheeses, veggies or herbs that you have around.
The dough of this delicious braid is in my opinion one of the best parts, made even lighter and fluffier due to the addition of baking powder to the dry ingredients. I didn’t expect it to make much of a difference but I definitely noticed one. The finished product was light and crispy perfection.
Since I haven’t been hosting brunch parties too often these days I saved most of this to reheat in individual portions. A few seconds in the microwave followed by toasting in the oven led to the most perfect crisp edges and melty cheese inside. Little makes me more relieved than the realization that I have some of this deliciousness to reheat instead of having to deal with breakfast. A bit of work on Sunday morning is so worth if for breakfast all week don’t you agree?
- 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
- 2½ cups bread flour
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons white sugar
- 8 eggs, scrambled
- ½ cup of grated cheddar cheese
- 1 small red pepper, diced
- 8 slices of bacon, cooked and broken into bits
- 1 egg for brushing
- sea salt for sprinkling
- In a large bowl combine the yeast, 2 cups of bread flour, baking powder and salt. Stir together and then add the oil and water. Use a spatula to stir until a shaggy dough has formed.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until a stiff dough has formed. Add the addition ½ cup flour if dough is sticky.
- Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean dish cloth. Place somewhere warm and let proof for 30 minutes or until puffy and doubled in size.
- When the dough as proofed, turn it out onto a well floured surface, form dough into an oval shape and roll out to about 12x15 inches. Place the rolled out dough onto a piece of parchment paper before assembling.
- Spread the scrambled eggs into a strip in the middle of the dough followed by the bacon, peppers and grated cheese.
- Using a pizza cutter or pastry roller- cut inch-thick strips onto either side of the filling.
- To "braid" the bread- overlap one strip over the other- stretching each piece to seal the the beneath it.
- Once the loaf is braided- brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with sea salt.
- Transfer the parchment onto a cookie sheet or pizza stone, and bake for 20-25 minutes at 375F, or until crust is golden brown and crisp. Cut into slices and serve warm.
This post was developed for Clabber Girl Baking Powder but the thoughts and opinions are always 100% my own!
Lissa says
That looks absolutely delicious! Will need to put this in the back pocket for special occasions like Christmas Morning breakfast. yum. As a mom of 3, I know what it’s like to get no time! Thanks for sharing! :)
Elisa @ Insalata di Sillabe says
I love love love bread in general, even more if it’s filled with delicious cheese and veggies, so you can easily imagine how thrilled I am about this recipe! I love the ingredients you used for the filling, they’re some of my favorites and the crust looks wonderful, too.
I’d love for you to post more savory recipes like this on the blog!
xo, Elisa
Annie @ Annie's Noms says
I want to eat this so bad, breakfast is my favourite meal of the day and the more carbs and bacon the better, but this week I have to fit in a graduation dress so I have to stick to carrot sticks :( Life is so unfair – I WILL make this after Thursday – bacon, egg, cheese, bread all the very best breakfast ingredients!
Stefanie @ Sarcastic Cooking says
Oh man. I totally hear you about breakfast. It is my fave meal and I rarely get to enjoy it because sleep is so much more important to me than breakfast. But this! Wow! Stunning.
Cindy says
This recipe sounds wonderful; I can’ wait to try it – and the fact that you can make it ahead of time and reheat makes it so much better. Thanks!!!
Paige says
hi audra, i would definitely try this next sunday. i’m currently into baking using yeast and this would be a perfect pastry to bake. what temperature should i bake it at?
Thanks!
Audra says
Hi Paige! Sorry for the delay- this bakes at 375F- I updated the recipe :)
Annette says
Looks great – what size do you roll out the dough?
Audra says
Hi Annette! I rolled this to an oval about 12×15 inches :)
Rachel @ Bakerita says
Sooo…I don’t like eggs (I know – the horror!) but my friends would absolutely LOVE this. I think I need to make it just for them, and maybe leave eggs out of a piece of it for me to devour :) yum! Pinned!
Adri says
This braid looks absolutely divine. It is a meal in itself, and oh so perfect for guests. I’m going to have to try this one! Thank you for sharing it.
Cathy Perez says
This is such an awesome breakfast idea, Pinned!
Stephanie @ Eat. Drink. Love. says
This looks so darn good! The perfect make-ahead breakfast!
Kristen says
This does look like the perfect brunch recipe – all in one!
Audra says
Thanks Kristen :)
Joanne says
Having breakfast ready to go definitely in the morning definitely makes it feel less stressful! And what a gorgeous breakfast braid this is!!
Francesca Catanuso says
You added all the right drool worthy adjectives in this one. yum!
angie says
love it . Can you show how you braided it.
Louisa says
Great recipe!
Just wondering if you would freeze this before or after baking? Looking for something easy for Boxing Day morning that I can make in advance. Thanks ;-)
Shell says
This looks so delicious, I can’t wait to try it out. I was just wondering if I beat the eggs and put it in the bread dough raw, or should I put cooked scrambled eggs in the bread dough before baking?
Margaret Parkinson says
I think this would be so good in my pizza crust — and if you have one of those in the freezer, that would cut out a step and shorten the process?
Audra says
Yes definitely!