Bread Bake with Cheese and Tomatoes Recipe
Bread bake with cheese and tomatoes is a homely way to use up stale bread in the form of a large, baked “toast” for several people. Inside it resembles a savory bread pudding – soft and eggy – while the top is distinctly crisp, with stretchy cheese and juicy pieces of tomato. This version uses basic fridge ingredients and happily takes various leftover breads and cheeses.
This dish reflects the Polish habit of not wasting bread and turning it into new, filling meals. The combination of tomatoes, cheese and oregano gives it a light Mediterranean character.
This bake combines the Polish habit of saving bread with a lightly Mediterranean trio of cheese, tomatoes and oregano. It’s flexible – you can mix different breads and cheeses and the egg base will still hold everything together. That way it tastes a bit different every time, but always very homely.
Why this version works
- Stale bread absorbs the egg mixture better and doesn’t fall apart like fresh bread.
- Squeezing very juicy tomatoes prevents the center from becoming soggy and underbaked.
- Some cheese inside gives a stretchy interior, while the layer on top creates a crisp crust.
Chef's tips
Bread that is 1–2 days old works best – slightly dried but not rock hard., When mixing with the egg mixture, just turn the cubes until they are moist but still clearly visible., If you use very salty cheese, go easy on the salt in the mixture, as the saltiness intensifies after baking.
How to serve
Serve warm for a late breakfast or supper with a mug of strong tea or coffee with milk., Serve a bowl of cucumbers with salt and pepper or a simple salad with vinaigrette on the side to add freshness to the cheesy center., For gatherings, cut the bake into small squares and serve as warm finger food.
Watch out for
- Don’t add too much milk – if the mixture is too thin, the center won’t set evenly.
- If the top browns quickly while the center is still liquid, loosely cover the dish with foil and continue baking.
- Don’t mix the bread too vigorously, or the cubes will turn to mush and the bake will be dense.
Substitutions
- You can replace yellow cheese with mozzarella or gouda; parmesan on top will give a more savory flavor.
- You can replace part of the milk with 30% cream if you want a creamier interior.
- Instead of fresh tomatoes use canned diced tomatoes, well drained in a sieve.
- You can replace part of the bread with rolls or baguette to use up different bread leftovers.
Ingredients
- bread - 300 g
- milk - 250 ml
- egg - 3 piece
- yellow cheese - 150 g
- tomato - 3 piece
- chives - 2 tablespoons
- butter - 20 g
- garlic - 1 clove
- oregano - 1 teaspoon
- salt
- black pepper
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 190°C (top and bottom heat). Thoroughly butter a baking dish of about 20×25 cm, including the sides, until they are evenly coated with a thin layer of fat.
- Cut the bread into cubes of about 2 cm. If the crust is very hard and dry, you can cut some of it off or cut it smaller so it soaks up the egg mixture more easily.
- Remove the tough cores from the tomatoes and cut them into medium cubes. If they release a lot of juice, gently squeeze them in your hands or in a sieve until there is no standing liquid in the bowl.
- Peel the garlic and chop finely or press it. Coarsely grate the cheese so that after baking it forms visible, stretchy strands.
- In a large bowl whisk the eggs with the milk until the mixture is uniform and slightly foamy on the surface. Add the garlic, oregano, salt and pepper and mix again.
- Add the bread cubes to the bowl. Gently turn them in the egg mixture until all sides are moist but the bread still holds its shape. Set aside for 5 minutes so the centers soften.
- If after 5 minutes some cubes are still dry inside, add 1–2 tablespoons of milk and gently mix again. The bread should be soft but not falling apart into mush.
- Add half of the cheese and half of the tomatoes to the bowl. Mix gently with a spoon, just turning the ingredients so the bread doesn’t turn into a uniform mass.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared dish and smooth the top. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and arrange the remaining tomatoes on top, pressing them lightly into the mixture so they don’t brown too much.
- Place the dish in the preheated oven and bake for 20–25 minutes, until the top is well golden and when you gently shake the dish the mixture in the center is no longer liquid.
- After removing from the oven, let the bake stand for about 5 minutes to firm up slightly. Sprinkle with chopped chives just before serving – the herbs should look fresh and keep their color.
Storage
Store covered in the fridge for up to 2 days. When reheating in the oven or in a covered pan, the top will brown again but the center will become more moist and less fluffy than when freshly baked.
I like this bake best when there are pieces of different loaves inside – sometimes wholemeal, sometimes white – every bite tastes a little different. I often throw in a few capers from the bottom of a jar if I happen to find them in the fridge door.
