By First quiet week after the Bryants drove home Monday. The apartment is back to its three-person rhythm. Brayden is forty-two weeks old. Dustin is back to full shifts at the shop. The dishwasher has run twice extra each day to catch up on the visit’s plate-volume.
The cinnamon-raisin bread pudding is a rescue-mode dessert — the heel-end of the half-loaf of Carol’s cinnamon-raisin bread she had left in our breadbox Sunday afternoon before driving back. The bread was three days old by Wednesday and was past its eat-as-toast prime. Bread pudding is the right disposal-frame for week-old enriched bread. The custard rehydrates the staling crumb. The cinnamon-raisin profile blooms in the bake.
The recipe is the standard bread-pudding formula adjusted for the bread’s sweetness: cubed bread, soaked in a custard of eggs and milk and brown sugar and vanilla (less sugar than I would use with plain bread, since the cinnamon-raisin bread is already lightly sweet), baked in a buttered casserole dish at three-fifty for fifty minutes until the top is golden-brown and the center is set. Served warm with a small drizzle of warm cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Sunday I made it. Dustin had two helpings. Brayden had a teaspoon of plain pudding (no raisin — raisins are a choke risk at his age — the pediatrician’s starter-solids list has not yet introduced them). The pudding is the kind of dessert that earns its place by being the right thing to do with leftover bread.
Mama and Cody have continued to run the small Sapulpa-cafe at its small steady-state pace. The breakfast rush moves through. The lunch-plate-special rotates daily. The Friday-regional-special slot keeps the small adventurous-element alive. Cody’s pop-up Tuesday continues to sell out within an hour of the Friday-menu-post.
The technique-detail I always lean on: the temperature of the cooking-surface matters more than the temperature in the recipe. A hot pan with cold ingredients fails. A medium pan with room-temperature ingredients succeeds. Let the small ingredients come to the small kitchen-temperature before the small cooking starts.
Cinnamon-Raisin Bread Pudding
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour | Servings: 9
Ingredients
- 6 cups cubed day-old cinnamon-raisin bread (about 8 slices)
- 2 cups whole milk
- 4 large eggs
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup raisins
Instructions
- Prepare the pan. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x9-inch baking dish with butter or cooking spray.
- Arrange the bread. Spread the cubed cinnamon-raisin bread evenly in the prepared baking dish. Scatter the raisins over the top.
- Mix the custard. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, melted butter, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until well combined. Gradually whisk in the milk until smooth.
- Combine and soak. Pour the custard mixture evenly over the bread cubes. Gently press the bread down with a spatula so it absorbs the liquid. Let it sit for 10 minutes.
- Bake. Place the dish in the preheated oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool and serve. Let the bread pudding rest for 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm, plain or with a drizzle of cream.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 285 | Protein: 7g | Fat: 10g | Carbs: 42g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 260mg