The Ultimate Bread Pudding

I am not an advanced chef or baker, but I am quite proud of my bread pudding. I have actually converted a non-bread-pudding-believer once. Bread pudding is just such a great dessert. It's so easy, can be made ahead of time, and you can save it in the fridge and have dessert every night for the rest of the week (depends on how fast you eat it).

I started with this recipe and modified it over the year(s). Here is my version. You can use any fruit toppings really. I have tried quite a few and everything is delicious, except bananas. Do not use bananas ever. They create this inexplicable weird rancid taste.

Do use challah bread! I have tried all kinds of bread (French, sourdough, country-style, brioche). Basically anytime I have stale bread I think, hmm, I don't want them to go to waste so I will make a bread pudding out of them. Nothing tops challah bread.

Ingredients:
1 lb of Challah bread (or a little less depending on if you want your bread pudding to be more bread-y or more custard-y)
1 cup of berries (blueberries and blackberries are excellent; you can even mix a variety of berries)
2 cups of milk
1 cup of heavy cream
3 eggs
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of bourbon (optional)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon of salt
butter (for pan)

Directions:

• Use day-old Challah bread and tear it into 1" pieces and set them aside in a large bowl.
• Whisk eggs, sugar and salt together.
• Add the milk a little at a time and whisk to combine.
• Gently stir in cream, vanilla, and bourbon.
• Pour the milk mixture over the bread cubes and berries and stir to combine, pressing bread down to get the floaters if neccessary; make sure bread cubes are all covered.
• Cover and refrigerate over night.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter a 9"x9" casserole pan.
• Bake for an hour and let it cool slightly before you serve.