Recipe: Challah Bread Pudding

Last Friday I was invited to a Shabbat dinner, so I made sure to bring challah so I wouldn't arrive empty handed. But I should have known that my good host would already have challah. So then I had a whole loaf of bread to myself. What was I going to do with it? Make bread pudding, obviously!

I found this recipe on the blog Live Well Bake Often. Sounded pretty easy, so I thought I'd try it.

Ingredients

• 1 loaf day-old challah bread cubed into 1-inch pieces
• 5 large eggs lightly beaten
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 cups whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

Bread cubes

1. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Place the cubed challah bread into the prepared baking dish and spread it around into an even layer. Set aside.

The spices didn't completely blend in, but I think that's okay.

2. In a very large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, milk, vanilla, nutmeg, and cinnamon until fully combined. Pour the mixture evenly over the bread in the prepared baking pan, making sure all of the bread is coated. Allow to sit and soak up the mixture for about 15 minutes.

Everything is mixed together and ready for the oven!

3. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F. Once the 15 minutes is over, place the bread pudding in the oven and bake at 350°F for 45-50 minutes or until the top is set.

4. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.

First of all, I did not read the entire blog post, just the ingredients list and the basic instructions. So I missed the part about slightly toasting fresher challah so that it will be a little dried out, which is ideal for bread pudding. I bought my challah on Friday afternoon and made the bread pudding on Sunday; while it was a few days old, it was not quite stale. But that didn't seem the matter: this bread pudding was delicious! I also didn't have any nutmeg, so I used allspice instead. It gave the bread pudding a bit of a chai flavor, which I actually really like. I would definitely make this recipe again!

Iceland: Day 4

I was leaving Iceland but had a few hours in the morning to entertain myself. After Hannah and I had breakfast at a nearby bakery (we enjoyed more hot chocolate and pastries), she had to head out for the latter half of her trip.

Image found here.

Once she was gone, I just walked around before visiting the Saga Museum. I will say, I thought it was overpriced for what it was, and the museum was a bit disappointing for have such a front-and-center location as people walked toward the downtown area. I paid more than $20 to simply listen to a recording as I walked in the dark and looked at wax figurines. So I wouldn’t recommend it.

After that visit, I hit up a few more stores before starting the long walk to BSI. Since it was another sunny, warm day, the walk was more pleasant but also a bit hotter than the walk to the hostel when we first arrived. I almost missed my bus, not because of timing, but because I was confused about which airport I wanted. But the bus driver helped me out and I was on my way.

Alcohol, perfume, candy, oh my! Image found here.

I arrived at the airport with plenty of time to go shopping at the duty free store, where everyone said things would be cheaper. I’m not sure they really were, but I did get candy for my office and some souvenirs for family members. Then I grabbed lunch (a veggie sandwich and mango chia smoothie) before heading to my gate. I made myself comfortable for the long wait.

This is what Greenland looked like as we flew over. Image found here.

The general travel process was rather long, from boarding to take-off, the flight itself, and then getting off the plane and waiting in a LONG line for customs. I was so exhausted and overheated; it was probably the first time I’ve felt hot on a flight. I was so happy to get back to my apartment and sleep after such a long day. But what a fun trip overall!