Comfort Food Classic: Nana's Bread Pudding Recipe

Yes, I'm having a bowl of warm bread pudding with rum raisin ice cream for breakfast. How else do you think I stay sweet all day? (har, har, har!)

Let me clarify, though. This is not your dime-a-dozen bread pudding. It's Nanny's bread pudding! My mom and I stash the measurements in our recipe books (can you guess whose is whose?) for easy access—it's one of our shared favorites. How could it not be, right? It's a foolproof family classic that gets even better with time: This morning marks day three in the fridge, so it's at its prime!









Nana makes her bread pudding a little different than I do mine: she whisks the eggs, sugar, nutmeg and vanilla right in the baking dish, then gradually stirs in hot milk and bread cube cubes (I mix bread cubes into a cold custard, kind of like French toast batter, then pour it into a buttered pan). What I love about Nana's recipe—besides how how simple the procedure is—is that the whole thing's baked in a water bath to keep it super creamy. You're being gifted recipe gold, my lovely friends. Enjoy it accordingly :)

Oh! I should mention I was a delinquent and baked this in a 9-by-13 baking dish instead of the recommended 1 1/2 quart dish. Ignore me! You want that smaller deeper dish. It keeps the pudding creamy and moist. Looks like I lost mine in the move...grr! Also, I added a glug of whiskey to the batter. It didn't hurt...

NANA'S BREAD PUDDING
SERVES: 8 to 10

3 cups whole milk
2 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 cups lightly packed bread cubes

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚. Heat the milk in a saucepan over medium heat until tiny bubbles appear. 
2. Meanwhile, beat the eggs, sugar, vanilla, salt and nutmeg in a 1 1/2 quart baking dish with a wire whisk. Slowly beat in the hot milk. Stir in the bread cubes. 
3. Set the baking dish in a roasting pan and place it on an oven rack, then fill the roasting pan halfway up with boiling water. Bake 1 hour or until a knife comes out clean.