Use Your Loaf....

Well do you...and no I'm not being rude or casting aspersions on your intelligence, I mean it quite literally!

We don't eat a lot of sliced bread, but I do like to keep a bit in mainly for making toast....hot, buttered, covered in home made jam.....yummmmm.
But sometimes a full loaf is a bit too much. OK so I can freeze half of it but to be honest I'm not keen on thawed sliced bread. Rolls never seem so bad, but thawed sliced bread can be a bit soggy I find.

Anyway the point of this post is really a make do and mend one as at this time of year I can think of nothing better than a good old Bread and Butter pudding! So I thought I would share my busy mums (or Nanny's) version with you.

First you need to gather your ingredients...

 About 8 -10 slices of bread

Soft brown sugar

Sultanas

2 eggs

3/4 pint of milk

I like to use a large ceramic souffle dish for mine but any deep sided dish will do. However this is to be cooked in the microwave, so although you may get away with a square dish, I would avoid an oval or oblong as they need to fit on your turntable.

Cut all the crusts from the bread (but don't throw away) and then butter each slice generously making sure you cover right to the edges. Next cut the slices in half across the diagonal.

Arrange 2 slices (4 halves) in the bottom of the dish, one slice laid one way and the other in the opposite direction...

Sprinkle about a dessertspoon of soft brown sugar over the bread and then a generous spoon of sultanas. The amounts are pretty open to interpretation here, depending on how sweet or fruity you like your puddings...

Continue in this fashion, 2 slices at a time until the last 2 are added and cover these again with a little more sugar and plenty of fruit. Don't worry if the stack is now above the dish as this will shrink down when the liquid is added and again when it is cooked.

Next you need to whisk the 2 eggs with a spoon of brown sugar. Heat the milk in a pan to blood heat (just hot enough to still be able to put your (clean) finger in) and when ready carefully whisk the milk into the eggs. Don't ever try to pour the eggs into the milk as you are likely to end up with scrambled egg instead of custard.
Carefully strain the custard mixture over the bread trying to make sure that all of the top slices are soaked.

Leave to stand for at least 10 minutes and if possible up to half an hour to allow the custard to be soaked up by all the bread.
Finally pop into the microwave and cook on full power for 4 minutes and then turn down to the defrost setting and cook for a further 20 minutes.

The pudding will shrink slightly from the sides of the dish as the custard cooks.

And voila one absolutely delicious, definitely not calorie conscious pud.....

This shot makes it look as though it wouldn't go far but there is more than enough for four people.....

.....and of course not forgetting those crusts which we are certainly not going to waste....pop them on a grill pan and carefully toast them turning them so they brown well all over. Then blitz them in a processor and store in an air tight jar to cover your homemade chicken kievs or scotch eggs...but thats for another time....

Enjoy

TTFN

Jenny xx