Oh, oh, oh! I am not a big fan of custard. Not at all. Therefore, many bread puddings don’t appeal to me. Plus, they are often too sweet, too boozily sauced (boozily sauced?), and/or too full of raisins for my taste. But if you ask me, I will say, yes, of course I LOVE bread pudding! So I make it and I try a new recipe every single time, attempting to find the one I actually do love.
Tonight, with an aging loaf of Acme Bread pain au levain (a loaf made with whole wheat starter mixed with some unbleached wheat flour and malted barley flour) on my counter, I had an irresistible urge to make bread pudding. Acme Bread almost never makes it to the aging point at our house, especially since we’ve returned from Austin. Acme Bread makes great bread and if you are ever in the Bay Area you must promise me you will find some and you will eat it, even if it means going to the Ferry Building in SF and buying it and eating it while watching ferries go to and fro. Okay, especially if it means doing that. Although I am very lucky and even my corner grocery store carries it.
But we had some that was getting more than a trifle bit stale. Thus the bread pudding, though I could only find one egg and one egg yolk (left over from making banana bread, but I will get to that someday, really) and most recipes call for at least 2 or 3 eggs.
So I made a recipe up. Since I don’t like custard, my recipe turned out perfect for me with the ingredients I had on hand. Just sweet enough, hardly any raisins, moist and crunchy at the same time. I got so excited that I had to share it with you right away – in spite of the fact that I have a banana bread recipe burning a hole in my virtual pocket!
Bread Pudding
Ingredients:
2 cups 2% milk
3 Tablespoons butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups stale bread, cut into medium cubes
1/8 cup raisins (optional)
3 Tablespoons cream
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place bread cubes in a greased 1 1/2 quart casserole.
Sprinkle the bread cubes with raisins, if using.
In medium saucepan, over medium heat, heat milk just until a film forms over the top. Remove from burner. Add butter to milk, stirring until butter is melted. Let cool while doing the next step.
Combine egg and egg yolk, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Beat with an electric mixer at medium speed for 1 minute. Slowly pour in the milk mixture.
Pour the liquid mixture over the bread cubes.
Drizzle the cream over the bread cubes, which will be sticking up out of the liquid mixture.
Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until set. Let cool slightly and serve.
