Bread pudding tips needed - never had it but need to make it

Here is my recipe. I make it several times a year.

2 Eggs
1 T melted butter
1 Tablespoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups milk (whole or 2%)
3/4 cup sugar
3 1/2 to 5 cups toasted french bread. Cut into 1" cubes and toast in your broiler - watch it closely!

Preheat oven to 325º.

Beat eggs, butter, vanilla, and milk. Add sugar and mix until sugar is disolved.

Arrange cubed bread in a baking dish and pour egg mixture over the top. Bake for 55 to 70 minutes or until the crust is golden on the top. Don't underbake.

Serve with warm vanilla sauce. mmmm...

I often bake mine in individual ramekins - but that won't work for a crowd.

I cut the sugar in this recipe more than in half (originally called for 2 cups). It lets the bread flavor though without being so cloyingly sweet!

** I use French bread or even bakery sub buns. Sliced bread, even texas toast, has too fine of a texture, IMO.

As far as prepping ahead - I often toast my bread and freeze the cubes. I would probably just make this a day ahead and rewarm it before I took it to school. I wouldn't let the bread sit overnight in the liquid unbaked.

I've also made it with day-old croissants and Nutella. 

This is the one I make. I don't think its something kids would want to try if they haven't had it before.. I would probably cut back a bit.

Ingredients
5 cups cubed stale brioche, challah croissants or French bread (crusts removed)
3 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
Pinch of salt
3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup berries
Cooking Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Generously butter a 12-inch round oven-proof pan or a 3-quart baking dish.
Combine the milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla bean in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Stir to dissolve the sugar, then remove from the heat, cover the pan with plastic wrap and allow to steep for 15 minutes (if using vanilla extract you don't have to steep the mixture).
Remove the vanilla pod, scraping all of the remaining seeds into the milk.
Meanwhile, spread the bread cubes on a baking sheet and place in the oven.
Toast until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
Remove from the heat and arrange in the baking dish in an even layer.
Beat the eggs and egg yolks together in a bowl.
Bring the milk mixture back to a simmer and remove from the heat.
Making sure that the mixture is not simmering, whisk 1/2 cup into the egg yolks.
Combine well, then whisk the tempered eggs back into the milk mixture. Scrape in all of the egg mixture with a rubber spatula.
Pour the custard mixture over the bread and let sit for 5 minutes.
Gently press the bread down into the custard mixture. Gently fold in chocolate and top with the berries.
Place the baking dish in a roasting pan and fill the roasting pan with enough water to come halfway up the sides of the baking dish.
Bake 45 minutes, until set and the top is just beginning to color.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Serve warm, room temperature, or cold.

4 pans? Not many kids are going to eat bread pudding.

Just for the record, I like my bread pudding less bready and more custardy.

I make chocolate croissant bread pudding ... using (cheap) croissants from Costco (I think one package would be enough for four pans) and bittersweet Ghirardelli chocolate bars broken into pieces. I can post my recipe if you want it but it looks like you're set with recipes. Basically, I just took a standard Marion Cunningham bread pudding recipe, subbed in croissants, and added chocolate.

I would bake the night before and serve at room temperature. But I just want to add that (1) kids might think it looks weird and refuse to eat it, and (2) that's a lot of nerve, asking one person to make FOUR pans of the stuff. My limit would be one pan. Two if I were in a particularly good mood.

We use Challah bread (which can be difficult to find).

But I've seen it made with every kind of bread you can imagine.

When we make it now, we add chopped apples to it before baking. Since most places offer a caramel type sauce to go with it, its perfect with the chopped apples.
I wouldn't worry to much about it, since its for tomorrow. Prep today bake in the morning, you will be fine.
Unless it is A LOT of kids, and not knowing what size trays.... 4 might be too much or not enough. I have one recipe that only fits in an 8x8 pan, but I also have one recipe that uses my big lasagna pan.

Its one of my favorite desserts when done right

My favorite version I ever had came with whiskey sauce...not kid friendly, but yum!

These recipes sound amazing. Now I want bread pudding. Sigh.

Last week, I was with a client who bought us some bread pudding to share. It was disgusting. Horrid. It had - are you ready for this? - pineapple - in it!!! Pineapple, of all things!!!! Who in their right mind makes bread pudding with pineapple in it.

Lisa

I guess for this she can't use a vanilla rum sauce!!

I think bread pudding tastes better the next day after all the flavors have had a chance to meld. I like it served slightly chilled with maybe a warm drizzle of caramel or white chocolate on it.

BTW, my mom used to make bread pudding to use up bread that was going stale. I always thought she made it as a treat and never realized she just didn't want to throw out stale bread. it always tasted great.

You probably don't want to hear that my sons' elementary school asked me to make, and I made, 250 latkes with 1 other mom for our holiday fair a couple of years ago.  It takes a lot of time, oil, and potatoes to make 125 latkes. LOL!