Bread Pudding (Another Country Favorite)

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The inspiration for this bread pudding recipe came from a failed batch of batter bread. The recipe said to put the batter in loaf pans and let it raise for 45 minutes.

When I opened the oven door after 45 minutes, the batter had risen all right. Up over the sides of the pan and was dripping down onto the bottom of the oven. (What a mess!) I took the pans out, scraped out the batter, washed the pans, and then got out a third loaf pan and divided the batter into 3. “Hah!” I thought, “I’d like to see you drip all over my oven THIS time.”

When I checked on the bread halfway through baking, it was had risen almost to top the of the pans but didn’t “boil over.” When the oven timer went off, I opened the oven and discovered that the bread had fallen and was now only an inch high.

So, I used the inch-high bread to concoct this recipe for bread pudding.

You can use any kind of bread that you want in the recipe.
6 cups of bread chunks
4 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups milk
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Grease a 3-quart casserole dish. Tear the bread into chunks and put into the casserole dish. (If you are adding raisins, alternate layers of raisins between the bread.)

Put the eggs into a mixing bowl and beat for a minute or so with a fork. Add the brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla, salt and cinnamon. Beat with the fork for several minutes until sugar is beaten into the eggs. Add the milk. Stir thoroughly. Pour over the bread in the casserole dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of the pudding comes out clean. Serve either warm or cold. Whipped cream or ice cream is good with it when it is still warm.

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