Grandma’s Old-Fashioned Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce!

Old fashioned bread pudding with vanilla,bourbon or caramel sauce is an easy and simple homestead recipe to use up eggs, milk and stale bread. Comfort food at its best – breakfast, dessert, or snack!

What do I do with my bread that is no longer fresh?
We are all aware of the fact that after a couple of days, your fresh baked bread is no longer fresh baked. In fact, it’s a little dry and crumbly or chewy. Sometimes even stale. And let’s face it folks, stale bread is kind of a big deal.
So, if you look around the world, you will discover that almost everyone has found some very clever ways to use up bread that has gone stale.
Panzanella, panko, stratas, pain perdu, torrijas, croutons, bread crumbs, brown Bettys or French toast.
But, in my opinion, the queen of them all is the bread pudding. Well, sometimes.

Let’s get to the recipe.

Ingredients:
• 4 cups (8 slices) cubed white bread
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Sauce Ingredients:
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon vanilla

Directions for Pudding:
Heat oven to 350°F. Combine bread and raisins in large bowl. Combine milk and 1/4 cup butter in 1-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat until butter is melted (4 to 7 minutes). Pour milk mixture over bread; let stand 10 minutes.
Stir in all remaining pudding ingredients. Pour into greased 1 1/2-quart casserole. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until set in center.
Directions for Sauce:
Combine all sauce ingredients except vanilla in 1-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens and comes to a full boil (5 to 8 minutes). Stir in vanilla.
To serve, spoon warm pudding into individual dessert dishes; serve with sauce. Store refrigerated.