Preheat oven to 350F and line a small/medium cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat.

Bake the one puff pastry sheet first for 10 minutes or so. Make sure it is not fully cooked (no golden color or flakiness) we just want to par bake to avoid a soggy bottom crust. If you do not care, skip this step altogether!

In a frying pan cook ground sausage until brown throughout. Do not drain. Set heat to medium-low and mix in the 2 tbsp of flour to the sausage sitting in grease, it should be bubbling. The point here is to create a roux which in the end will result in a thick sausage gravy. Add the ⅓ cup of milk and 1 tsp pepper, remove from heat. Add the sausage gravy on top of the first puff pastry sheet. Wipe out the pan because you will be using it for next steps.

In a frying pan, cook the shredded hash browns until golden crispy on both sides. If using oil to cook them, use olive oil but only add as needed so that the hash browns don’t carry over extra grease or become soggy. Add hashbrowns on top of the sausage gravy.

Mix an egg in a small bowl and carefully pour about ½ of the egg mixture on top of the hash browns.. Brush the bare pastry perimeter with some of the egg mixture, there should still be a good amount left for the puff pastry sheet that is going to go on top.

For the bacon, there are multiple ways to cook it, such as: in the air fryer with the basket- it’s mess free and reduces the bacon smell in the house, stovetop, or oven. There’s also some really good fully cooked bacon that is perfect for this recipe to avoid more cooking. Once bacon is prepared the way you prefer, crumble it and sprinkle over layered breakfast.

Place 6 slices of cheese on top of the bacon.

Carefully place the second puff pastry sheet on top and press the edges to connect the top and bottom pastry sheets. Press them together with a fork all the way around. Brush egg wash all over the top and bake for 18-23 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before cutting into 9 pieces, or smaller. Serve while still hot/warm for ultimate flakiness.