If you’re one of the many new bakers in the world during the pandemic, this recipe will take your bread and raise it to another level. No longer will bread have to remain off to the side, reserved as a second thought to a meal, relegated to a basket or small plate. This recipe makes bread into its own meal.

My husband is one of these new bakers, and he made this beautiful loaf of sourdough. But, if you simply bought the bread from the supermarket or local bakery, that’s perfectly okay too. This recipe is easy to follow and you can really play around with the variety of cheeses you add-in. We used Gruyere and cheddar because it was what we had on hand. We had fennel growing in our garden so we swapped out the leek for fennel. The point is to make it a meal, so try different combinations out for yourself, and it can easily be reheated in the oven wrapped loosely with foil if you don’t finish it all in one sitting.

Pain Au Surprise

Recipe by: Richard Bertinet, from Gozney.com

Serves: 6-10 (or lunch and dinner for 4)

Ingredients:

• 7 oz pork lardons or pancetta
• 1 shallot, finely sliced
• 1 small leek, finely sliced
• 9 oz creme fraiche
• 2 eggs
• Freshly ground nutmeg, to taste
• 1 large sourdough loaf, pain au levain
• 2-3 cooked potatoes, thinly sliced
• 1 Reblochon cheese, thinly sliced (alternatives: Taleggio, Gruyere, Fontina)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly oil a pan and set it over a medium heat. Add the lardons to the pan and saute until colored.
2. Add the shallots and continue to cook until softened but not coloured. Add the leeks, and continue to cook to lightly soften but still retain the colour.
3. Mix together the eggs and creme fraiche, season with salt and pepper and grate in nutmeg to taste. Don’t overmix; keep the mixture a little lumpy.
4. Put the bread on a large sheet of baking paper with a larger sheet of foil underneath; you need to be able to completely wrap the loaf in baking paper and foil tightly to bake it so make sure you have a large piece of both.
5. Melt the butter in the pan. Stuff a slice of cooked potato into each slot in the bread and follow with some of the lardon, leek and shallot mix.
6. Spoon some of the cream and egg mixture into each slot so that the bread can absorb as much as possible.
7. Finally, insert the slices of cheese and enclose the loaf fully in the baking paper and foil to make a tight parcel.
8. Check after 25 minutes but the loaf may take as long as 45 minutes depending on the heat in the oven.
9. Once everything is nice and gooey, you can unwrap the parcel so the top of the loaf is exposed and return to the oven until the top is golden brown.
10. Serve with a green salad, rose or a crisp white wine, and enjoy!