You're probably wondering what Bread Pudding has to do with the 4th of July, and the answer is . . . nothing really. I
could claim that I chose it for this week because it's a classic American dessert, but it actually isn't. It originated in 13th century England as a frugal dish to use up leftover bread. In recent years this humble dessert has risen from being a homey comfort food to a trendy dish featured on the menus of upscale restaurants and bakeries, and the variety of flavors are endless.
Last Saturday my daughter threw a Baby Shower Brunch for her sister, and she asked me to make French Toast Kabobs. I ordered unsliced Cinnamon Drop Bread from Old Grist Mill so I could cut the bread into large cubes without crust. I practiced making them at home first, which turned out to be a time-consuming process. After dipping in the egg mixture, they had to browned individually on all 6 sides, which meant turning them each multiple times (which, by the way, would have been much more difficult without the assistance of my all-time favorite cooking tool,
Piggy!) Once I got the hang of how to do it, I was able to successfully duplicate the process at her house Saturday morning. They turned out well, and her whole brunch was very lovely, as you can see.
The only problem was that I couldn't bear to waste all the crusts and odds and end pieces left after making the cubes.
Cinnamon Bread Pudding instantly came to mind, so I cut up the leftovers into smaller pieces as uniformly as I could and hastily tossed them into a Tupperware as I went out the door. Then on Sunday afternoon it was a simple matter to turn them into a delicious bread pudding which everyone enjoyed. See my easy recipe below.
Cinnamon Bread Pudding
8 cups day-old Cinnamon Bread, cut into small cubes
4 cups milk plus 1 cup cream
OR 5 cups 2% or Whole Milk
1 cup Sugar
3 Tablespoons Butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
6 large Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla
Note: This makes a big pan--my largest oblong Pyrex. You can easily cut the recipe in half and bake in a square glass pan.
Here is the Grist Mill Cinnamon Drop Bread I used, but any kind of Cinnamon Bread will do. If you want to make it with plain bread, I would suggest adding a 1/2 teaspoon of Cinnamon to the egg mix.
-Slice bread into bite-sized pieces, keeping them as uniform in size as you can.
-Butter a large, oblong glass baking pan.
-Spread bread pieces out evenly in pan.
- In a saucepan, heat milk, sugar, butter, and salt over low heat just until butter melts. It should just be warm, not hot.
-In a bowl, whisk up eggs, then whisk in the warm milk mixture.
- Add vanilla and nutmeg.
- Pour over bread, making sure to cover it all with the egg mixture. Let stand 10 minutes or so.
- Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes.
- Serve warm, topped with whipped cream if desired.
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