Breakfast Sausage Bread

The last week of February and the azaleas outside my apartment have started to show their first small hints of color at the tips. I have been checking on them every morning when I leave for work, which my neighbor Mrs. Patterson has noticed and found either charming or concerning. Hard to tell with Mrs. Patterson. She gives me zucchini from her garden every August and never explains why. I appreciate both the zucchini and the mystery.

I have been in a baking mood this week. Made a cast iron skillet cornbread on Wednesday, the savory kind with a little jalap and cheddar mixed in, which I ate with a big bowl of pinto beans I had going in the slow cooker all day. There is a particular satisfaction to slow cooker beans on a workday: you leave in the morning and the apartment smells like nothing, you come home and it smells like something has been working all day on your behalf. The beans were creamy and the pot likker at the bottom was beautiful.

I have also been working on my biscuits. Gloria's biscuits are legendary and I have been making them for years but I want them to be better. I read a long piece about biscuit technique and then ignored about half of it and followed my hands instead. This week I think I finally got the layering right: keeping the butter very cold, folding instead of kneading, not overworking the dough. The layers separated in the oven and the biscuits were tall and tender and I was proud enough to photograph them before eating half of them still warm.

I texted the photo to Gloria. She said those look like mine. That is the best thing she has ever said to me and she does not know it.

After a week of cornbread and slow cooker beans and biscuits that finally, finally cooperated, I did not want the baking streak to end—I wanted to ride it somewhere new. This Breakfast Sausage Bread felt like the right next move: still warm, still savory, still the kind of thing that makes an apartment smell like someone has been paying attention. It also gave my hands something to do while I was still feeling proud enough about those biscuit layers to want to stay near the oven a little longer.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 lb breakfast sausage (bulk, mild or spicy)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons fresh chives or green onion, chopped (optional)

Instructions

Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan and set aside.
Cook the sausage. In a skillet over medium heat, crumble and cook the breakfast sausage until browned and cooked through, about 8–10 minutes. Drain excess fat on a paper towel-lined plate and let cool slightly.
Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, black pepper, and garlic powder until combined.
Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, and melted butter until smooth.
Combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently until just combined—do not overmix. Fold in the cooked sausage, cheddar cheese, and chives if using. The batter will be thick.
Bake. Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan and spread evenly. Bake for 30–35 minutes, until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool and slice. Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Slice and serve warm.

Nutrition (per serving)

Breakfast Sausage Bread — Baked With the Same Hands That Finally Got the Biscuits Right