Ultimate Bread Pudding

DIRECTIONS

• Note: bread can be any non-savory firm textured bread.
• Avoid soft supermarket bread- makes pudding mushy and avoid rustic crusty loaves with open crumb- doesn't absorb and yields too firm a pudding.
• Whole wheat cinnamon raisin works well, but a brioche or challah work the best.
• Preheat oven to 350, butter a 13x9 baking dish.
• Whisk milk and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat.
• Meanwhile scrape vanilla bean into milk mixture and throw in pods.
• Heat to steaming, but not boiling.
• Discard vanilla pods.
• Whisk eggs and yolks in a large bowl, gradually add 2 cups of hot milk mixture, then pour egg mixture into the saucepan with the hot milk.
• Strain and whisk in cream.
• Spread bread cubes in prepared dish.
• Slowly pour custard over bread being sure to saturate all of the bread.
• Bake in the center of the oven for about 1 hour or until a small knife inserted in the center of the pudding comes out clean.
• Serve warm or chilled with whipped cream or caramel sauce.
• Note: you can add raisins, currents, dried cranberries, sour cherries or any other dried fruit you like.