4 large slices firm white bread or 6 if regular size bread
1/2 cup raisins
2 cups milk
4 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
pinch salt
2 tsp. vanilla
cinnamon

Butter an 8-incn baking dish. Dice bread into 1-inch cubes; place in baking dish. Sprinkle with raisins. Heat milk until bubbles form around edges. Break up eggs in a bowl, then stir in sugar, salt, hot milk and vanilla. STRAIN over bread in baking dish. Press bread down into the milk a couple of times so that it is well soaked. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Place in water bath in 350' F. oven. Lay a piece of foil loosley over the top. Bake 45 min to 1 hour until just set. Remove the foil near the end of cooking to crisp the top. usually about 15 minutes.
When I want to make this extra rich I replace some of the milk with cream. It is important that you strain the eggs to get a nice smooth texture. You can dress this up with all sorts of stuff, chocolate chips, dried cherries, etc. but I love plain old bread pudding, however sometimes I leave out the raisins and cinnamon and replace the vanilla with grated lemon peel. Then I brown the top more so it gets a little crunchy.