Loved it! Made this for dinner with friends and nobody could get enough! Didn't do the weight thing; cooked it for nearly an hour though. Would definitely make it again!

I tripled this for a dessert for 20 people, everyone enjoyed it. I used italian bread in place of artisian bread and added considerably moe milk. I also skipped the whole "bath" routine" and the weight on top business. Loved it.

Up front - I halved this recipe for six servings. Somehow I don't think the ingredient ratios faired well. The vanilla was too much and it needed more than 2 pears. I, too, could not find pear brandy but I had German pear Obstler and so used that. Not sure if the American pear brandy would impart a stronger pear flavor. Overall it was so-so to good but I will make it as written for twelve to see if it will be better.

The flavor and texture of this bread pudding are excellent. The only reason I did not give a full 5 stars is for the recipe itself- I think the cooking time is WAY off. This needed at least 50 minutes at 350, not 25 as written in the recipe. I will certainly make this again, but with notes for different cooking times. I might also try nutmeg instead of the cinnamon- nutmeg is fabulous with pears! Also, I did not have pear brandy. I substituted Caramel Liquor- yum! Regular brandy would also be a substitute- although I'll be keeping my eyes open for pear brandy.

This was very good. I made it three days ago and still have left overs in the fridge and it still taste really good. I didn't do it exactly the way the recipe said but overall it still worked out. I used french bread, cut up in cubes or bite size pieces. I used two cans of sliced pears in thier juices because the pears at the supermarket were not ripe at all and I needed them that day. Then I used the juice from the can because I did not have enough time to go get pear brandy. I'm making this again and will try with the brandy but other than that enjoyed alot. Oh, and the crumb mixture is goooood. It taste like you are eating a crumb coffe cake.