Simplest Bread Pudding With Salted Brown Sugar Sauce

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 300°F.
2. Toast the bread: Cut the challah into 1-inch slices. Tear these slices into big pieces with your hands. (They don’t have to be even!) Add to a rimmed sheet pan. Bake for 30 minutes, rotating halfway through, until the bread is lightly browned and dried out. Let cool completely.
3. Psst: Leave that oven on, we’re using it again soon. While the toasted bread is cooling, make the custard. In the largest bowl you have, combine the half-and-half, brown sugar, vanilla extract, salt, eggs, and egg yolks. Whisk until completely smooth.
4. Add the toasted, cooled bread to the custard mixture. Use two big spoons (or your hands) to toss until all the bread is coated. Butter a 13x9-inch baking dish. Add the bread-custard mixture to the pan. (There will be some custard that hasn’t absorbed into the bread yet. Just pour it evenly over the top.) Use one of the spoons to gently push down the bread. Let the bread absorb the custard for 30 minutes, using the spoon to push down the bread every so often to encourage it to soak up as much custard as possible.
5. Bake the bread pudding uncovered for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the top is golden-brown and the center is no longer liquidy (you can use your finger or a small knife to check this). Let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
6. Make the brown sugar sauce. Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Mix, stirring slowly but constantly, until the sugar has dissolved and the butter has melted. That’s it! (If you want a thicker sauce, you can bring it to a simmer and cook it until thicker. But I like it just like this—especially since it thicken more as it cools.)
7. Serve big scoops of bread pudding with an extra-big drizzle of brown sugar sauce on top.