bread pudding for the people

nothing new just a step by step recipe that i’d like to share

Yield: 6 people

for lemon marmalade

Lemons                          4 each

Sugar                             1 cup

Water                             8 oz

Bay leaf                          1 fresh or 2 dry

for bread pudding

Brioche Bread                  half a loaf cut into 6 pieces

Half and half                    1 quart

Sugar                              1 cup

Eggs                                5 each

Directions:

For Lemon Marmalade

Put a pot of water to boil. Cut the lemons into quarter wedges and blanch the lemon wedges in boiling water for 5 minutes.  Drain and combine sugar, water, blanched lemons, and bay leaf in the same pot and cook it for about 10-15 minute on medium heat or until the lemon liquid is reduced by half, and the lemons look transparent.  Don’t worry if the liquid looks thin, it will thicked up as it cools.  Put into a jar or a container and let cool.

Cut the brioche into 6 pieces with the crust off, and arrange it into a deep baking dish so it fits snug.

Mix the eggs and sugar in a Kitchenaid mixer with a whisk attachment or in a bowl with a whisk until frothy.  Warm the half and half in a heavy bottom pot  to 120F/50C.  Add the frothy egg/sugar mixture to the warm half and half and stir with a whisk or a paddle to make sure that the bottom will not burn and stir until the mixture reaches  167F/75C, this is very important that the custard mixture does not go over the  167F/75C, or it will be too dense to soak the bread.  Pour the hot custard onto the bread and let soak for ten minutes.

take out the soaked brioche onto a baking sheet and let it drain the excess liquid.  Reserve the  extra liquid for the next batch. In a hot pan, cook the bread much like a French toast but just to get the color on all sides and then coat the tops of the bread with sugar and burn it like a cream brulee or use a hot spatula or an iron to burn the sugar.

Serve the Bread pudding warm with the lemon marmalade on the side.

Enjoy!

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