I've been making this strata for years. I prefer bread cubes over the slices. Looks "prettier" and gets a nice crunch on the top. I cut semi-stale white bread (usually a ciabatta loaf that's been left out to dry for the day) into 1-inch chunks and make the two layers with that. If you're using a glass dish, be sure to start it in a COLD oven. Regardless, I never pre-heat...I simply stick the glass or metal pan right into the cold oven, turn it on, set the timer, and go back to bed for an hour.

A very good recipe. I used leftover wheat bread, and threw in some sauteed mushrooms. I only had 1 1/2 hour to chill in the fridge, so I took it out a few times and basted the egg/milk mixture back over the bread to make sure it was well soaked and wasn't just sitting at the bottom of the pan. It came out great. I turned on the convection for the last 10 minutes, and believe that this helped to puff it up. It reheats well in the toaster oven.

Delicious but regarding clarity's comment, I also had to cook the strata for almost 1.5 hours to get it cooked through and puffed. May be shorter cooking time if you use half cream and milk or upped the eggs to increase the protein content.

The flavor of the strata was good but the texture was not. The middle of the strata was like mush, despite baking it for longer than specified. It firmed up a bit for leftovers the following morning, but not enough. We ended up eating just the edges and discarding the soupy middle. What a waste.

Made this for Mothers' Day brunch. I was surprised by how yummy it was with such simple ingredients. Kids and adults both loved it. The recipe feeds more than six if you are having a large menu. It's a keeper.

The strata was salty because of the amount of cheese.

I don't know what I did wrong, but it was way too salty. Used 1 tsp of kosher salt, so be careful.