Brioche Bread Pudding With Vanilla Custard

Bread pudding is a delicious way of repurposing stale bread to make it into a wonderful breakfast, dessert, or afternoon treat. Our country-style brioche bread pudding recipe is an easy alternative to elaborate dessert recipes, as it requires very little effort and most of the job gets done in the oven while you go on with your day. Ready in just 50 minutes, this easy recipe is made with a simple vanilla custard that's cooked on the stove, plus day-old brioche bread, and some sweet and chewy raisins. The result is a beautifully golden casserole of goodness that you can serve with creme Anglaise for a decadent dessert or with fresh fruit and chopped nuts as a hearty breakfast. The dish is not very technical and can be made even by novice bakers; our method shows you how to make a no-fuss custard, plus the ultimate goal of the recipe is to mix custard with brioche and bake. Simple and tasty.

Brioche is a soft and fluffy French yeasted pastry bread made with plenty of eggs and butter alongside the flour. Because of the yeast, the dough needs to prove, and in brioche's case, the leavening process happens at least twice. Making brioche from scratch is a one-afternoon ordeal, and although not necessarily difficult it requires precision and timing. The brioche dough is then used to make all sorts of bread-like shapes, from sandwich or burger buns to intricately weaved loaves, or single mini brioches, all designed to suit specific purposes. For our recipe, you just need whatever brioche you have at hand, no matter the shape. The store-bought kind works really well, and won't break your bank like more sophisticated artisanal varieties that are sold in fancy bakeries. What's important in this case is that you have the classic buttery brioche—though bread pudding with plain bread is also really delicious—so the end result is a creamy and silky preparation, in which the pillowy brioche gets filled with the sweet vanilla custard.

For more decadent presentations, serve with chocolate sauce and chocolate shavings, or pair with a peach or apricot compote, stewed apples or pears, or a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.