Bread gratin is super warm and cozy, perfect for this cold weather!
ABOUT BREAD GRATIN
This bread gratin recipe is super easy and satisfying. The crusty bread and savory, creamy sauce combination is unbeatable. Bread gratin is the perfect comfort dish to make for the season. It uses the same general ingredients as a gratin, but instead of potatoes or pasta, we use the bread that we hollowed out. Additionally, you can customize it however you like, so you’re guaranteed to have a meal you’ll enjoy! It’s also a plus that the dish looks fancy and special, but it’s super easy and relatively affordable to make. It’s the perfect meal for bundling up for a cozy night in hehe.
COMPONENTS OF BREAD GRATIN
- ☆ Bread: Ideally we want to use a bread bowl or cube loaf of bread to use the bread as a vessel as well, but you could also cut pieces of any kind of bread and bake it in a baking dish.
- ☆ Filling: The base of the filling is the bechamel sauce and bread folded together. Similar to the pasta gratin recipe I did before, you can also use whatever vegetables or protein you have on hand as well!
INGREDIENTS (+ SUBSTITUTIONS)
This is a basic list and explanation of the key ingredients. For full list and measurements, please scroll down to the recipe below!
- ☆ Salted butter
- You can use unsalted butter instead, just make sure to taste as you go to make sure it’s seasoned to your liking!
- ☆ Cake flour
- Cake flour is starchier which will help the sauce thicken up more compared to all-purpose or bread flour. You can use all-purpose flour instead, or use 26g all-purpose flour and 4g cornstarch.
- ☆ Milk
- I used whole milk because of its higher fat content, but any milk will work. As long as you cook it until reduced and thick, it should be fine.
- ☆ Heavy cream
- Added for additional creaminess and thickness.
- ☆ Bouillon powder
- Bouillon adds savoriness to the sauce. I used beef bouillon, but you can use any you like! Additionally, you can use vegetable bouillon to make this sauce vegetarian.
- ☆ Onion
- Optional, but highly recommended! Make sure to cook it to your liking before adding to the sauce.
- ☆ Bread bowl
- You can also use a cube loaf, or any bread you have on hand.
- ☆ Spinach
- Optional, but highly recommended! Make sure to cook it to your liking before adding to the sauce.
- ☆ Shimeji mushroom
- Optional, but highly recommended! Make sure to cook it to your liking before adding to the sauce.
- ☆ Mozzarella
- For topping before baking. You can use any cheese you like or omit it altogether!
TIPS FOR MAKING BREAD GRATIN
- ☆ I recommend toasting the bread pieces until they are quite hard and crusty before adding to the sauce to maintain their shape somewhat. They will absorb a lot of the moisture from the sauce especially while baking, so doing this prevents it from becoming Too mushy.
- ☆ If you use the bread as the baking vessel, make sure your bread is sturdy enough to hold the sauce. If it isn’t you can lightly toast it or line the inside with mozzarella before adding the sauce.
MORE COZY RECIPES! ♡
- ☆ Gratin
- ☆ Pumpkin Soup
If you recreate this Bread Gratin recipe, please let me know by tagging me or leaving a comment on Instagram @maruryouri or TikTok @atsuryouri. I’d love to see your creations and hear your feedback!
Bread Gratin
Bread gratin is super warm and cozy, perfect for this cold weather!
Ingredients
- 2 bread bowls
- 30 g salted butter
- 30 g cake flour
- 300 ml milk
- 100 ml heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon bouillon powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Olive oil
- ½ onion
- 3 oz of spinach
- 1 package shimeji mushrooms
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- Mozzarella
Instructions
- Begin by preparing the bread bowls. Slice off the upper ¼ of the bread bowl, and use a knife to cut around the inside to hollow out the other ¾ of the bread. Set aside the hollow bread bowl and sliced off top onto a baking sheet for now, and cut the bread we removed into cubes. Lightly coat the bread cubes with oil and toast until it starts to turn golden brown. I did this in an airfryer at 200°C/400°F for 6 minutes, but you can also do this in an oven or toaster. Once toasted, set aside.
- Next, prepare the bechamel sauce. In a saucepan, melt butter over medium high heat. Once the butter has melted, add the cake flour and whisk to create the roux. Mix around vigorously to ensure that the flour is evenly distributed and cooks evenly. Keep mixing around until the flour is completely cooked and turns a golden brown.
- Add the milk in increments, stirring after each pour to prevent lumps. It may look like it won’t come together, but just keep adding and whisking.
- Once the sauce is smooth and thick, add the heavy cream, bouillon powder, salt, and pepper to taste. Mix to fully incorporate and set aside.
- Prepare the vegetables. If you are using different ingredients or omitting them, then you can skip this step! Heat up olive oil in a small pan over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and lightly fry until fragrant. Add the shimeji and onions and cook until the onions are translucent. Remove from the pan and set aside for now.
- Using the same pan, heat up a little more oil to cook the spinach. Season the spinach with a pinch of salt, and cook until wilted then remove as well.
- Now we can mix the ingredients all together. In a bowl, add the toasted bread, bechamel sauce, and any vegetables or protein you are using. Fold together and scoop the mixture into the bread bowls. It’s okay if the filling goes a little bit higher than the top of the bread.
- Top with mozzarella cheese and bake with the sliced off tops at 180°C/350°F for 10-15 minutes. If the tops start to get too brown, remove from the tray and continue baking the bowls. Additionally, if the bowls are toasting faster than the cheese is melting, you can use a broiler on low to melt the cheese on top.
- Once the bread is golden and the cheese is melty and bubbly, remove it from the oven. The filling will be really hot, so be careful! Plate the bread gratin to serve immediately, and the bread gratin is done! 完成です！