Pumpkin Bread Pudding

I have texture issues [among other things].

Something goes on in my brain when what I think something should feel like doesn’t match up with what is actually going on. The same thing happens when I get novocaine [or something similar] and go numb. I can’t feel anything, but my brain knows I should feel something. It’s an odd place to be.

Examples of my texture issues are: sopas, the wooden spoons that come with little applesauce cups, cookies dunked in milk, and soggy bread/pastries/cake.  I can dunk cookies in milk, but I have to dip it and shovel that cookie so quickly into my mouth and chew that it’s almost as if I didn’t incorporate the milk at all. Needless to say, I don’t usually bother.

Bread is probably the worst. I don’t usually like putting butter on my bread. I don’t like coating my waffle/pancake/french toast in syrup. I don’t want to have ice cream anywhere near my cake. I don’t deny that I’m weird. I usually avoid bread pudding because I generally can’t get over the eggy custard plus bread combination. Custard by itself? Love it. Bread? Love it. Combined? I’m torn.

So why the heck did I make bread pudding? Well, I had leftover bread. I didn’t want french toast. I didn’t want to wait to soak a strata overnight. Logic taunted me, “Maaaake bread pudding. Chaaaaallange your feeears.” And who am I to mess with logic? Besides, I love pumpkin pie [which this tastes like], and if I had to throw it away, so be it. I was going to throw away the old bread as it was.

Lo and behold, I actually liked it. I liked it so much so that I ate two pieces [half of the dish] and called it dinner. I mean, it’s virtually baked french toast, right? Right.

Adapted from Gourmet Magazine – Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups soy milk [any milk will work here]
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs + 1 yolk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon bourbon [optional, but come on, it’s really not]
• 5 cups day old bread, cubed
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter

Procedures

• Preheat oven to 350º.
• Put butter into an 8×8 square baking dish [I used glass] and place on the center rack to melt while the oven is heating up.
• Whisk together pumpkin, milk, sugar, eggs, yolk, salt, spices and bourbon in a bowl.
• When butter is melted, put the bread cubes in the dish and toss to coat.
• Pour the pumpkin mixture over the top of the bread cubes. Make sure all pieces are saturated.
• Bake until custard is set 25-30 minutes [30-35 for glass].

Enjoy.