Hops: By the Book: Chocolate Malted Bread Pudding

Another bread pudding, you say? Really, you say? You haven't exhausted your cookbook and blog collection of recipes for it? You haven't grown tired of such a rich and carb-laden dish?

Nope. It helps that I share the products of my kitchen adventures with my family and coworkers. My pants are grateful for that, as is my wallet. Jeans are way more expensive than they need to be. Seriously.

Anyway, no, I haven't exhausted bread pudding just yet. In fact, I have another variation up my sleeve. But I'll wait a few weeks, so we can all work off the carbs from my last few iterations. But until then, you really should make this. It's got the unique taste of malt powder partnering nicely--like it usually does--with chocolate. It's like a Whopper candy, if a Whopper candy were a bread pudding. Don't worry, I won't explore that idea. But I will advise you to splash each serving of this with Kahlua or Bailey's. You'll be glad you did.
Chocolate Malted Bread Pudding
From Joy the Baker Cookbook: 100 Simple and Comforting Recipes by Joy Wilson
Makes one 8-inch dish

Ingredients:
5 loosely packed cups stale challah bread, ripped into chunks
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/3 cup granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chunks, finely chopped
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. malt powder (chocolate flavored, if you have it)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Preparation:
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees Farenheit. Lightly butter an 8-inch square glass baking dish. Set aside.

If your bread isn't stale, put the bread chunks in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast for 8-10 minutes in the oven.

Place the stale or toasted bread pieces in the buttered baking dish.

In a small saucepan, heat the milk and cream until just barely boiling. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.

In a medium bowl, whisk together egg, egg yolks, sugar, and salt. While whisking, slowly drizzle the warmed milk mixture into the egg mixture to temper the eggs. Once the mixture is well combined, add the chocolate chunks, malt powder, and vanilla. Stir to combine.

Pour the chocolate mixture over the bread chunks. Make sure most of the bread is submerged and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.

Following the rest, cook for 25-30 minutes or until the top looks dry and dull and the pudding is set, not milky and jiggly. Remove from the oven and allow it to rest for 20 minutes before serving. It's delicious warm with a scoop of ice cream or at room temperature. Store in the refrigerator for a few days in an airtight container or tightly wrapped.

Notes:
--I had a stale baguette lying around, so I used that and some softer Italian bread in place of challah. It worked, though I'd imagine the softness of challah or an Italian loaf would be even better. This is one of those rare instances where I advocate soft bread to crusty bread.

--Semisweet chocolate chips can be used instead of chopping a semisweet bar. They might not melt quite as nicely, thanks to the stabilizing chemicals used to limit chip melting, but it will totally work. And I won't tell.

--I suspect my use of a baguette instead of challah made my bread pudding a bit more dry than it should've been. So I added a healthy splash of Kahlua on top of the bread pudding after it came out of the oven. It's delicious and added the moisture I was missing. Also, I may have a problem...

--Fresh berries are delicious with this. Especially if you're trying to find a reason to eat a bowl of it for breakfast or dessert. Berries are healthy, after all, so it's an excellent excuse.