Friday, May 1, 2020

Kathy's Kitchen, Laughs and Bread Pudding


I love making homemade bread. Kneading, feeling the dough come to the right consistency, is fun for me. And when the bread turns out good—what a shot of hopefully not too much pride in myself.

But this year, for whatever reason, it hasn’t risen the last several times I’ve made it. Bummer.

A couple weeks ago, I decided to use a loaf of unrisen bread to make the bread pudding my Mom used to make.

I remembered most of the ingredients, guessed how much of each. I didn’t feel I needed to call my mom to ask her.

I crumbled up the bread, added cinnamon and vanilla, threw in some butter. I didn’t have any raisins. Finally I gave in and called Mom about the amounts of eggs and milk.

It was all mixed up; I asked Murray to pour it in the baking dish for me and smooth it out. All ready. Oven was heated. I took hold of the pan and prepared to put it in.

Whoops, I forgot sugar.

“I don’t have to put it back in the bowl, do I?”

“Yes.”

We did. I started dumping in sugar, but Murray thought it would be a good idea to call Mom again and ask her how much. On the phone with Mom he said, “Stop, that’s enough,” as I started to add more.

It turned out great, despite everything. I’ll definitely do it again, but I hope I don’t have to use a loaf of unrisen homemade bread.

Bread pudding from Kathy’s Mom

Crumble up about a loaf worth of dried or stale bread. Add two eggs, two cups milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 cup sugar, a large spoonful of butter, raisins if desired.

Mix all ingredients and press into a greased baking dish. I used a casserole dish. You could use a square baking pan, 9 inches, or even a 9 by 13 if you've got enough bread. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes.

PS: I shared this recipe with a friend, but it took me two emails to get it to her. Because the first time, I forgot to include the sugar in the recipe.

We never stop laughing in Kathy’s kitchen.

4 comments:

  1. So fun and funny!!! This reminds me of baking with my girls!! We used to have loads of fun, and the results were good too! My mom was an extraordinary cook and baker. I miss her and her kitchen confections!! If I know my mom, she's probably in charge of the kitchen staff in Heaven - and they're loving it too!! :)

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  2. You cook the way I do. I almost never can give a recipe because I eyeball it and throw things in I think might be good in it.

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