French Toast Strata, or Breakfast Casserole {Gluten Free}

How many times has this happened to you: you try out a new type of gluten free bread, and it flops. It tastes funny. It’s dry. It crumbles. You think to yourself, Now what am I going to do? That bread was expensive, and I’ve got to somehow choke it down, because I can’t let it go to waste!

You could just toast the bread in the toaster before you eat it, because all gluten free breads taste better toasted. It makes them moister somehow. Or, better yet, you could make French toast with the bread. But, when you have a whole loaf of unpleasant bread, the best thing to do is to make French toast strata in a 9x13 pan, and use it up in one fell swoop!

We love to make this dish the night before a big weekend, and/or when we have company so we don’t have to take time to make breakfast, we just have to bake breakfast.

(For more ways to save dry bread, try this stuffing recipe. If you are still looking for truly good gluten free bread, checkout some of the brands I've tried here.)

Ingredients:

(1) ~1 pound loaf of gluten free bread

(1) 8 ounce package of cream cheese, thawed to room temperature

6 Tablespoons melted butter
2 ½ cups milk

¼ cup maple syrup

8 eggs

1 Tablespoon vanilla

cinnamon, pecans (optional)

Instructions: 
Set the cream cheese out to thaw. 
The particular gluten free bread that we wanted to use up was pre-sliced, so we just broke the slices into smaller pieces. Drop into a greased 9x13 pan. 
Slice gobs of cream cheese and place randomly over the bread. If you are a perfectionist, please, don’t waste your time! As soon as you pour the milk mixture over the bread and cream cheese, the cheese will float and bread will settle. 
Melt butter and pour over the bread. 
Measure milk into a glass measuring cup. 
Add maple syrup, eggs and vanilla. Mix well. 
Pour over bread. All the bread should be wet. Generously sprinkle with cinnamon, and garnish with pecans, if desired. 
Cover and chill 2 to 24 hours. We let it chill overnight. 
Uncover and bake at 325 for 50 minutes, or until set. 
Serve hot with syrup, and/or any kind of berries.

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