Bread Pudding

Quick Look_______________

This recipe comes from Carlton Fong from Gracepoint Fellowship Church - Austin and he told me it was really popular there. I recently wrote a post on stale bread, but sometimes it's just beyond repair. In that situation you can turn it into bread pudding. Or another good situation is when you have too much leftover from a dinner or trip, you can allow it to go stale and use it for a future dessert. It fits perfectly into Dish-Gracepoint's philosophy on being creative and resourceful on a limited budget. If you use old bread, just make sure it isn't moldy.

*If you have fresh bread, you can cut bread into cubes and on baking pan/cookie sheet, just put in oven on low heat until the outside gets crunchy.

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 1/2 - 1 hour
• Difficulty: Easy
• Labor Intensity: Could do by yourself, but 2-3 helpers would be good.
• 25 servings, adjust by 1.5x if your group tends to eat multiple servings.

Ingredients_______________

Bread pudding

• 4 cups granulated sugar
• 10 large beaten eggs
• 4 cups milk
• 4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (I like to add a little more)
• 6 cups cubed Italian bread, allow to stale overnight in a bowl*
• 2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 2 cup chopped pecans (optional, but adds a nice elegance)

sauce

• 2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup (2 stick) butter, melted
• 2 egg, beaten
• 4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions_______________

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan(s).
• Mix together granulated sugar, eggs, and milk in a bowl; add vanilla. Pour over cubed bread and let sit for 10 minutes.
• In another bowl, mix and crumble together brown sugar, butter, and pecans.
• Pour bread mixture into prepared pan(s). Sprinkle brown sugar mixture over the top (I don't use the whole thing if you want it to be a little less sweet and healthier) and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until set. Remove from oven.

Sauce:

• Mix together the granulated sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat.
• Stir together until the sugar is melted. Stir well.
• Pour over bread pudding. Serve warm or cold.

You can also serve hot off the oven with a scoop of ice cream. I would imagine this would be good with a dash of cinnamon or possibly nutmeg.