Challah French Toast Bread Pudding Goodness - Recipe

Challah French toast bread pudding

I remembered reading about a variation of French toast where you slice the bread, soak it in the custard in a casserole or on a baking sheet, and then simply throw it in the over instead of cooking on a griddle. This is a great way to turn it into a do-ahead item for a brunch with guests. I made that a few times and loved it too, and that got me thinking that there really isn’t much of a distinction between French toast and bread pudding, except that the bread is diced. So for the past few weeks, the challah has found itself cubed and soaked, baked off in the morning and devoured.

Of course once you are working the bread pudding vein, now you have a full range of flavoring possibilities. The recipe below is basic, with just vanilla and cinnamon. But you could add roasted pears and brown sugar, or apples and maple syrup, or orange zest and a bit of triple sec, for example. Or you could serve it with ice cream and go straight to dessert land. Cut out a circle and fry in butter for decadence. Or reduce the sweetness and go savory with, say manchego and smoked paprika. The options are endless.

Proportions in the recipe below are approximate, because it really depends on how much bread you have, how stale it is, and so forth. Just pour the custard on a bit at a time and you can stop when the bread is quite wet throughout, or mix up a bit more if needed. It should be the texture of French toast before cooking.

Oh, and because challah is typically braided, it is hard to remove all the crust without wasting too much. Just do the best you can, a little crust in the there won’t bother anyone.