Like Jamie, I could not find a loaf of brioche! In Beverly Hills! I don't know why, but I assumed that in Beverly Hills, they sell everything you could ever possibly need to be a fancy person. And a loaf of brioche is definitely one of those things.*
The bread pudding was super simple to make. The leeks smelled amazing while they were getting all nice and melty on the stove (though mine did brown a lot and I was wondering if that was supposed to happen?).
I did cut the crusts off the bread (wound up using 1.5 loaves of French country white in lieu of the brioche) and just used the soft innards. After toasting the bread in the oven, beating the eggs and mixing all of the fatty dairy, I composed the pudding. I was a bit concerned that I had too much bread. I know that some should be poking out of the custard, but I wondered if using a non-buttery bread could lead to dryness?
And because of this concern about drying out, I pulled the bread pudding out of the oven about a half hour early. It was so puffy and tall right out of the oven and then it imploded (albeit, rather gently). Wah. Nonetheless, K's dad proclaimed it to be the most beautiful bread pudding he'd ever seen (doubt it, but I'll take it) and our fellow Thanksgiving diners seemed to enjoy it thoroughly and offered up their compliments. Though I do think that the top was slightly dry.
* I could find brioche rolls, no problem, but I was not about to buy a million of them at $3 a piece, or however much they cost at Bristol Farms.
