Ingredients
- 1/2 (120 ml) cup raisins
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) brandy OR water
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) butter, melted
- 8 -10 slices dry bread
- 1 cup (240 ml) packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) allspice
- 3 eggs
- 1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) salt
- 1 (5 ml) teaspoon vanilla
- 3 cups (710 ml) milk, scald & cooled
Directions
- Cover raisins with brandy or water and set aside
- Melt butter
- Break up bread and set aside
- Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and allspice
Reserve 3 tablespoons of this mixture for topping
- Pour melted margarine over the bread and lightly toss to distribute. This will help your sugar mixture stick
Toss bread with remaining sugar mixture
- Place 1/2 of bread mixture in a lightly greased 1 1/2 quart baking dish
- Drain raisins, place 1/2 raisins over bread crumbs
- Repeat layers
- Combine egg, salt, and vanilla in a bowl
- Beat for about 1 minute
- While beating, slowly add the milk
Pour mixture over bread
- Let stand for about 5 minutes so the bread soaks up some of the liquid
- Sprinkle the reserved sugar mix on top
- Bake at 325F for 45 to 50 minutes
Notes
My original recipe (as listed below) calls for scalded milk. Older recipes said to scald milk to kill bacteria and an enzyme that prevented thickening in recipes. Today, most milk is pasteurized, so the bacteria and enzyme are already gone. Also, scalding milk raises the temperature, which helps dissolve yeast and melt butter when added to bread recipes. If you buy your milk from a store and it is pasturized, there is really no need to scald.
Also notice the brandy and raisins… I typically do not like rasins and so do not usually use them. However, when I do use them, instead of just tossing the brandy after a soak I put it in a small saucepot with a couple tablespoons of butter and cook it down slightly for use as a sauce over the bread pudding, YUMMY!!!