Instructions: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

To give a different texture to bread and butter pudding, tear the bread into 1-inch chunks, rather than slicing it with a knife. Put the chunks in a large bowl with the raisins and pour over the rum or whiskey and about two-thirds of the milk. Use your hand to squeeze the chunks of bread until they have fully absorbed the liquid, then let them soak. Butter a 1 1/2-quart baking dish.

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl with the sugar and vanilla just until smooth. Whisk in the remaining milk. Pour this custard over the bread and stir gently.

Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and spread it to a fairly even layer - it should be 1 1/2 inches deep so the pudding has a crispy top and soft center when it is baked. Make sure there are not too many raisins on top as they tend to dry out during baking.

Bake the pudding in the preheated oven until the custard is set and the top of the pudding is crisp and brown, 50 to 60 minutes. A skewer inserted into the center of the pudding should come out clean and be hot to the touch. Serve it very warm but not scalding hot, plain or with ice cream.

This recipe yields 4 to 6 servings.

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