Whole Wheat Bread Pudding

Old-fashioned bread pudding - an ingenius way to reglorify old bread and make a delicious dessert at the same time. In this case, I have simply used the 'heels' or crust ends of loaves of whole wheat sandwich bread I had leftover from making a lot of toast and sandwiches. You don't even notice the fact that the bread is whole wheat, making this dessert slightly healthier. Bread pudding is a satisfying, yet not overly sweet dessert, made with good, old-fashioned ingredients such as milk, eggs, and butter. I like to sprinkle mine with cinnamon sugar for a little more flavor, texture, and appearance, but it is optional. I also love to serve bread pudding with a sauce, especially if it is a more dry bread pudding rather than a custardy bread pudding such as this one. I made a brown sugar sauce to go with this batch, which I will feature tomorrow. If you would like, substitute some of the milk with a little alcohol for your bread pudding (do not heat the alcohol if you really want the flavor to come through) and spike your dessert sauce as well. My favorite is brandy bread pudding with Bailey's butterscotch sauce. 

Whole Wheat Bread Pudding
8 cups whole wheat bread, cubed (I used all heels)
8 cups milk
1/2 cup butter or hard margarine
2 cups raisins
8 large eggs, beaten
1 1/3 cups brown sugar
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
cinnamon sugar (1/2 cup sugar + 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, mix together)

Preheat oven to 350◦F. Lightly grease a large casserole dish or baking pan.
Scald the milk, then stir in the butter until melted, then the raisins. 
Meanwhile, beat the eggs with the sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until thick. Temper this mixture with the milk, then stir it all into the milk mixture until smooth. Pour over the cubed bread in a large bowl. Let mixture stand for at least a few minutes to give the bread a chance to absorb the liquid. 
Pour the mixture into the prepared dish, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, and bake for about an hour until firm and set, and no longer liquidy. Serve warm or cold with a sauce of choice.