Budín de Pan

Description
Bread pudding

Ingredients
(A)
 * 1/2 pound of bread, after removing the outer rind.This can be French bread, Puerto Rican pan criollo, sandwich bread, etc. Bread can be fresh or preferably one or two days old.
 * 4 cups whole milk, warm
 * 4 large eggs at room temperature
 * 4 tablespoonfuls butter, melted

(B)
 * 2/3 cup raisins
 * 1 teaspoonful ground cinnamon
 * 1 cup sugar or suitable substitute like Equal or Splenda
 * 1 teaspoonful vanilla
 * 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
 * 1/3 teaspoon salt

Directions

 * 1) Mix together the ingredients included in (B) and set aside. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
 * 2) Shred the bread into small pieces. Add 4 cups warmed milk and whisk until the bread soaks up the milk. If necessary, let stand fifteen minutes for the bread to soak up all the milk.
 * 3) Beat 4 large eggs. Add slowly to the bread and milk mix, whisking the eggs into the mix. Add the melted butter and whisk in.
 * 4) Add the ingredients included in (B) which you had previously mixed together. Blend in thoroughly.
 * 5) Pour all ingredients into a buttered baking dish.
 * 6) Place the baking dish into a much larger dish. After placing the baking dish into the larger dish, add enough water to the larger dish to fill it nearly three-quarters full.
 * 7) Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees. It will take approximately one hour for the pudding to reach the desired consistency. Add water to the larger dish if necessary.
 * 8) Alternately, you may use a "Ba–o de Mar’a" or double boiler to cook the pudding on the range over medium heat. Add water to the bottom section of the double boiler as necessary.
 * 9) Try not to overcook. The pudding should be removed from heat as soon as it shows consistency (a couple of minutes earlier than you would normally remove a cake).
 * 10) Some people like to eat it warm. For best results, though, refrigerate before serving. It will last two to three days, well covered, in the refrigerator.