Baked Oatmeal

Method

1. mix3 min
   dry and wet separately
   oats + baking powder + cinnamon + salt in one bowl; milk + egg + maple + melted butter + vanilla whisked in another — the melted butter goes into room-temperature milk, not cold, or it re-solidifies into flecks that bake as greasy spots
2. mix2 min
   berries folded last
   wet into dry, then two-thirds of the berries folded in gently — frozen berries go in still frozen; thawed ones bleed and dye the whole pan violet
3. rest10 min
   in the buttered dish, remaining berries on top
   while the oven heats — ten minutes of soaking lets the oats start drinking the custard, which is the difference between baked oatmeal and granola floating on quiche
4. bake35 min
   375°F, until set at the center and golden at the edges
   until the middle no longer jiggles as a liquid and the top has browned — the egg and milk are a light custard binding the oats, and it wants the same respect as any custard: done when barely set, not when bone dry
5. rest5 min
   before cutting into squares — it slices clean once the custard finishes setting, and it reheats all week, which is the real reason this dish exists