Easy Bread Pudding

Bread pudding is an old favorite and a great way to use up leftover or old bread. I make this particular recipe when my freezer's filling up with toast bread heels - it's so much nicer having that space taken up with bread pudding instead! This recipe is loosely based on Ellen Marie's original recipe, with tweaks to maximize my enjoyment of the end product. Feel free to give it a try or to follow the original recipe, to each their own!

Easy Bread Pudding

(12 servings*)

Ingredients

12 slices of toast bread** (torn or 'cubed')

1/2 cup of raisins

1/4 cup of melted butter

8 eggs

3 cups of milk

1 cup of sugar

1 cup of water

2 teaspoons of rose water

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Cardamom (to taste)

Cinnamon (to taste)

Nutmeg (to taste)

Salt (to taste)

*If you cut it in twelve. You do you!

**Mileage definitely varies! I usually use up the bread heels when I make this recipe, and since they can be on the thinner side I sometimes need 13 or 14 slices to fill the casserole dish I use. In the past when I've used dried out baguette it's usually taken the equivalent of a couple of the local baguettes to fill the dish. Use what you've got!

Directions

1) Set the oven to 175 degrees Celsius (that's 350 degrees Fahrenheit) and grease a 23cm x 33cm (9in x 13in) casserole dish.

2) Spread half of the torn bread on the bottom of the casserole dish, sprinkle with the raisins, and then cover with the remaining bread.

3) Drizzle the bread as evenly as possible with the melted butter.

4) Whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar, rose water, vanilla, spices, and salt in a mixing bowl and then pour over the bread. (I usually have to press the bread down a little with a fork to make sure everything's gotten at least a bit of a soaking and is settled evenly in the casserole dish.)

4) Cover the bread pudding with some aluminum foil, place in the preheated oven, and bake for 35 minutes before removing the foil and continuing to bake for another 30 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. (This is obviously what works in my oven - if you know yours runs hot or cool, adjust your timing accordingly.)

5) Remove from the oven and allow to rest for a few minutes (it'll be quite, quite hot otherwise). Serve as is or with a bit of maple syrup, custard, whipped cream, et cetera, and enjoy!