Old Fashioned Bread Pudding

This recipe was given to me by one of my dear friends, who has taught me (And still teaching me) everything I know about bread baking. I run to her with all my questions and queries. She is my rock in the baking world. A few years back we were over for dinner and she made bread pudding. I was never much of a bread pudding fan, but that night, I was converted. This recipe is wonderful and just sweet enough to calm the palette. I do not like super sweet desserts, so this fits right into what I am looking for.

The reason I am posting this, is because another dear friend called me (For an entirely different reason) and we got to talking and as you all know, one subject leads into another and soon enough she was asking me about my cooking blog and referenced to my post about what to do when your baked bread goes wrong. She knew I had a bread pudding recipe and she had not quite found one that tickled her fancy, so here is mine. Well, I cannot truly claim it. This recipe is from Urban Homemakers. They are all about cooking from scratch and using as much natural ingredients as you possibly can. So this is for you Sharon!!

1/2-1 stick softened butter
7 slices good quality homemade bread
4 cups milk or milk substitute (For you vegans)
3 eggs, slightly beaten (Vegans, do your thing)
1/2 cup sucanat (I have used any sugar I have in the house, usually raw sugar)
1/4 t salt
1/2 cup raisins
1/2-1 t cinnamon
1 t vanilla
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Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 2 quart baking dish. Spread a generous amount of butter on one side of each slice of bread and line the bottom and sides of the baking dish. Mix together, in a bowl, the milk, eggs, sugar, salt, raisins, and vanilla and pour over the bread. Place any extra pieces of bread on top and press down so they are submerged. Let stand about 10 minutes or longer if bread is quite dry. Bake covered for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake for 30 minutes more. If you like a crustier brown top, slip the dish under a hot broiler for a few minutes until deep golden. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream...oh heck, go for broke and use both.

Enjoy!