I find recipes for bread pudding vexing, as there never seems to any agreement amongst them on the ratios of bread, eggs, and dairy. I mostly find myself reverting to Serious Eats formula (by weight): 2 parts bread, 3 parts eggs, 4 parts dairy. Add-ins extra. I confess to straying a bit from the formula depending on my mood or availability of ingredients, but never by much. I like the consistency of a standard formula.
Today I was inspired by an Ina Garten recipe for raspberry French toast. I used a home-baked challah, added to the liquid ingredients a few Tablespoons each of white and brown sugars, a bit of vanilla, and a few drops of orange oil (in lieu of zest). I cut the raspberries back to 5 oz.
Delicious! I used 10 oz. of bread, which was not quite the full loaf. It was a bit shy for my 7”x11” baker, but probably too much for the round baker which I used (pictured). I think next time I’ll use the full loaf of bread and bigger, shallower pan (I like those crispy bits on the top best).
