bread pudding

Bread pudding is new to me, but I was determined to use my leftover challah. Basically, bread pudding is custard with some bread in it. Kind of weird, but if the custard is nice, then the bread pudding is kind of good. This custard is nice. I didn't mess around. It's adapted from the Tartine cookbook, which everyone should own.

Ingredients

6 1" slices challah or brioche
6 eggs
3 cups whole milk
3/4 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 loaf

Directions

Preheat oven to 350º.

Lightly toast the bread.

Grease a loaf pan with butter. (A 8 x 4" or 9 x 5" will do.) Loosely line it with bread, cutting up slices if necessary. Don't crowd the bread or else the pudding will turn out dry. Leave an inch at the top since the pudding expands when baked.

Beat the eggs. Mix in the milk, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Strain it while pouring it into the loaf pan until it's about 1/2" from the rim. Let the bread soak for a few minutes. (Extra custard can be poured into ramekins, set in a water bath, and baked at 350º for 45 minutes.)

Cover the loaf pan with foil. Place it on a pan in case it drips. Bake for 1 hour. It should look a tad runny when done. It'll firm up as it cools. However, if there's a lot of liquid, bake it for another 10 minutes or so.

Serve warmish with fresh fruit.

90 minutes