TWD - Bourbon Bread Pudding

Wow, I can't believe it.  After baking along with the Tuesdays with Dorie group for almost 2 and a half years, it's finally my time to get to pick the recipe.  I thought that this day would never come.  I am honored to pick for this weeks recipe Bourbon Bread Pudding which can be found on page 407 of  Dorie's book, Baking, From My Home to Yours. My main reason picking this recipe was the bourbon.  I live in Kentucky which is the bourbon capital of the world.  Almost all bourbon is produced in an area of central Kentucky not far from my home.  I also picked this recipe because it was fairly quick and easy to make and it used  ingredients that you would have on hand.  

It starts with the bread.  I used a day old baguette. Cut it into 1-inch cubes.  I also tried a softer French bread which I toasted in the oven.  Both worked fine.

The ingredients

You will need 8 ounces of cubed bread. 

Whisk the eggs, yolks,sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg together.

Slowly add the milk and cream mixture to the the eggs.

Add the bourbon and other flavorings.

Place the bread cubes in a glass 9-x-5-inch loaf pan and then pour your custard mixture over that.  Press the mixture down with a  wooden spoon.  Let it set for one hour.

The pudding is baked in a hot water bath.

Bake the pudding for 30 minutes covered with foil, then remove the foil and bake for 15 minutes more.

 

I added a bourbon sauce for a little extra flavor.  I combined 1/4 cup softened butter, 1/2 cup confectioners sugar, and 2 tablespoons bourbon.  The mixture will look almost like frosting.  Spread over the pudding while it is still hot.  This will melt giving the pudding a wonderful buttery bourbon sauce. Yum. 

Bourbon Bread Pudding

8 ounces baguette (or egg-rich bread), preferably stale
1 ½ cups whole milk
1 ½ heavy cream
4 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1 tablespoon bourbon
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon pure almond extract

Getting ready: Have a nonreactive 9x5-inch loaf pan on hand (a Pyrex or pottery pan is perfect here), as well as a roasting pan big enough to hold the loaf pan. Line the roasting pan with a double thickness of paper towels. Fill a teakettle with water and put it on to boil; when the water boils, turn off the heat.

Cut the bread into 1 inch cubes. If the bread is stale, put it in the loaf pan. If it is not stale, spread it out on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat and bake in a 350-degree-F oven to “stale” it for 10 minutes, then put it in the pan.

Bring the milk and cream just to a boil.

Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, yolks, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg together in a bowl. Still whisking, slowly drizzle in about on quarter of the hot milk mixture-this will temper, or warm, the eggs so they don’t curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remaining milk. Add the bourbon and vanilla and almond extracts and whisk gently to blend. Rap the bowl against the counter to pop any bubbles that might have formed, then pour the custard over the bread and press the bread gently with the back of a spoon to help cover it with liquid. Cover the pan lightly with wax paper and leave it on the counter, giving the bread the back-of-the-spoon treatment now and then, for 1 hour.

Getting Ready To Bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Discard the wax paper and cover the pan snugly with a piece of aluminum foil. Slide the pan into the oven and very carefully pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the pudding pan. Bake the pudding for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for 15 minutes more, or until the pudding is puffed and golden and a knife inserted deep into the center comes out clean. Transfer the baking pan to a rack and cool the pudding until it is just warm, or until it reaches room temperature.