By March. Seed starting. Jack's windowsill green again — Marlene cherry tomato (fourth generation now, saved seeds), Mortgage Lifter, Brandywine, Sun Gold, Rutgers, and two new varieties. He's eleven in September and he's thinking about selling at the farmers' market. The boy is becoming a farmer. Not someday. Now.
Irish soda bread for St. Patrick's Day. No yeast, just flour and buttermilk and baking soda — bread for people who can't wait for rising. Practical bread. Weber bread in spirit.
Roger called Jack for the pre-spring strategy session. An hour on the phone. Topics: corn spacing, tomato staking, a twelve-minute debate about mulch depth. Two farmers, seventy-one years apart, arguing about mulch. Neither conceded. Both were right. The Weber stubbornness, transmitted across generations, expressed in inches of organic material.
That soda bread I mentioned — flour, buttermilk, baking soda, done — got me thinking about the whole spirit of practical cooking, food that doesn’t ask you to wait around while it does its thing. With Jack already deep into his seed trays by seven in the morning and Roger’s mulch opinions still echoing in my head, I wanted breakfast to feel like an event without requiring one. This Breakfast in Bread is exactly that kind of recipe: everything together, nothing wasted, ready before the seedlings need their morning water.
Breakfast in Bread
Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 round sourdough or Italian bread loaf (about 1 lb)
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup diced ham or cooked crumbled bacon
- 1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
- 2 tablespoons diced onion
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
- Hollow the bread. Slice off the top of the loaf and set aside. Hollow out the inside, leaving about a 1-inch shell. Reserve the bread pieces for dipping or another use.
- Brush with butter. Brush the inside of the hollowed loaf and the underside of the top with melted butter. Place on the prepared baking sheet.
- Mix the filling. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Stir in ham, bell pepper, onion, half the cheese, salt, and pepper.
- Fill the loaf. Pour the egg mixture into the hollowed bread shell. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.
- Bake. Place the bread top alongside the filled loaf on the baking sheet. Bake for 22–25 minutes, or until the egg is set and the cheese is melted and lightly golden.
- Slice and serve. Let rest 3 minutes, then replace the bread top, slice into wedges, and serve warm.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 380 | Protein: 20g | Fat: 16g | Carbs: 38g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 740mg