I love strata. I love that it can be pretty much whatever you want it to be. I don't love the overnight rest. Sometimes - no, make that usually - the idea of planning breakfast before I've even gone to bed the night before is just beyond me. However, I discovered that if I use stale croissants as opposed to the stale bread required by most strata recipes (the grocery store variety are fine here), they're so tender that given a rest of an hour, you can have both the idea and the breakfast/brunch on the same day. They form a tender crust which cradles the other ingredients. Life doesn't get much better than that in my house.
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<br />The sweetness of the pears pairs beautifully with the savory-sweet crunch of the fennel and the creamy/tartness of the cheese(s). A sprinkle of sea salt over the pears before they caramelize in the oven is the finishing touch.
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<br />This doubles nicely, but please be aware that in a larger baking dish, the bake time will be longer by probably 10-15 minutes.

Read the recipe at Food52.com