I have been having so much fun teaching the Bread Making eCourse. Every time I think I know enough to teach a class it never ceases to amaze me at how much I learn by actually teaching it. It proves two things: first, no one can know everything about a certain topic (no matter how much I think I know, ahem, I mean how much a person thinks they know) and second, some topics are so broad that they take a lifetime to master.
In the Bread Making eCourse, I’m learning how much I love kneading bread by hand. I have to admit that I’ve been a mixer girl up until this point, but there is really nothing like getting your hands in the dough. The other thing I’m learning is that the older my boys get, the harder it is to keep homemade bread for more than a few hours. As soon as I leave the kitchen to sit down to write, the smell signals those boys just like Batman is signaled by the bat signal, and of course they think it’s their duty to eat mom’s homemade bread. Yeah, super hero similes are ‘a mom of boys’ thing, but it’s a small price to pay for wonderful teenagers who I know will someday save the world….. 🙂
On occasion, I might have leftover bread while I’m recording the Bread Making eCourse, or more precisely, on occasion, I hide a few loaves because I have a recipe I want to share with you. However, you could totally use this recipe if you were to have leftover bread, I think I am years away from actually having food that was actually leftover because someone did not want to eat it. All this to say, if you have bread that’s not yet stale but past it’s prime here is a great way to use it up.
Bread Pudding From Scratch
You Will Need
- 16 oz bread (8 cups cubed–2 small loaves)
- 1 cup raisins (optional)
- 5 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (or to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups whole milk
- 3/4 cup of your favorite organic sugar
Take your bread and cube it. Cut it into 1 inch to 1/2 inch pieces.
Place your bread in a greased baking dish. I used coconut to grease this cast iron dish. Sprinkle in raisins if using.
Heat milk, sugar, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla over low to medium heat. Let cool just a bit. Meanwhile crack and scramble your raw eggs. Mix the raw egg mixture into the milk mixture. Be sure the milk mixture is cool enough that it doesn’t cook the eggs.
Press the bread down under the liquid. Refrigerate for about 4 hours (or longer–overnight is good). Occasionally, take the mixture out and push the bread under the liquid if you’re refrigerating during the day.
Bake at for 45 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit or until bubbly and golden brown. Top with heavy cream and enjoy!
Note: to keep the bread from drying out start out with a cover on your pudding then take off for the last 15 minutes of baking so that the top can brown.
Here are a few more ways to use leftover bread (plus another bread pudding recipe).
What’s your favorite way to use leftover bread?
