Lunamoth

Can you see a difference?

Yesterday I made bread (see loaf on right).  Today I made bread again (see loaf on left).  I know that it’s a poor carpenter who blames his tools, but I blame the bread machine for the disaster on the right.  It didn’t work properly on the whole wheat program.  So, after a good night’s sleep and with renewed resolve, I tried again with the white bread program.  As you can see, all went well.   However, there was still this “loaf” (more of a “brick”, actually) of sub-standard bread on the counter.  “Pas de problem“, as they say in the province to the east.  “Bread pudding au chocolat!” as we say in this house when we’re trying to sound classy.

Bread pudding is one of those comfort foods with many variations.  You can put dried or fresh fruit in it, jam or jelly, or even gummi bears, if that strikes your fancy. You can serve it with a bit of cream, a whiskey or rum or bourbon sauce, whipped cream, or caramel topping out of a jar. I like to make mine with chocolate chips. Here’s how I do it:

Yumminess

Butter an 8″ square baking pan.  Cut stale (or merely disappointing) bread into rough cubes, anywhere from 1/2″ to 2″ in size.  Put enough of the cubes into the pan to generously cover the bottom.  Sprinkle with a layer of semi-sweet chocolate chips (enough to cover the bread).  Follow this with another layer of bread.  Sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar over the top, and dot with bits of butter.  Beat two eggs in a large measuring cup, and add enough milk to make 2 1/2 cups of liquid.  Pour this over the bread mixture.  Smoosh the bread down into the liquid a bit, to make sure that every cube absorbs some moisture.  Let this sit for about twenty or thirty minutes.  Bake 45 minutes in a 350F oven. Eat some while it’s still warm.  C’est tout!