When making this recipe you can use challah as mentioned in the recipe or you can substitute the challah for brioche. You may be thinking, “aren’t they the same thing?”, and the simple answer is not really.
Challah is typical kosher which means it will not contain dairy where as brioche contains butter. The two breads will give you different results in terms of flavor and consistent given the nature of how the breads are made.
Both are excellent choices but we recommend you start with challah.
Ingredients
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2 cups milk
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2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, more for greasing pan
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1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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⅓ cup sugar
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Pinch salt
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½ loaf sweet egg bread like challah or brioche, cut into 2-inch cubes (about 5 to 6 cups)
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2 eggs, beaten
Instructions
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Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a small saucepan over low heat, warm milk, butter, vanilla, sugar and salt. Continue cooking just until butter melts; cool. Meanwhile, butter a 4-to-6-cup baking dish and fill it with cubed bread.
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Add eggs to cooled milk mixture and whisk; pour mixture over bread. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, or until custard is set but still a little wobbly and edges of bread have browned. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Recipe source: Mark Bittman-New York Times Cooking
Photo source: Weelicious
