Spray your pan with non-stick cooking spray.
If you haven’t already, cube the French bread (approximately 1-inch pieces) and toast them until lightly browned. Spread the cubed, toasted bread, raisins, and pecans in the prepared pan. You can skip the raisins or the pecans if those don’t appeal to you.
In a small saucepan, heat milk and butter over medium heat.
In a bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt. Pour 1 cup of the heated milk mixture to the egg mixture to temper it, then add the egg mixture back into the hot milk mixture.
Pour the eggs and milk over the cubed bread in the pan. Cover with foil. You can bake immediately or let it soak in the fridge overnight before baking.
Place a large baking dish in your oven and place your dish filled with bread pudding onto the larger pan. Pour water at least half an inch deep into the outer pan.
Bake at 350°F for one hour. Remove foil and place back in the oven for an additional 15 minutes, or until nicely browned. During this last 15 minutes, make the sauce below.
Pour the Jack Daniels sauce over the baked bread pudding and keep warm in the oven until time to serve.
Whiskey Sauce Directions:
During the last 15 minutes of the bread pudding browning, make the sauce.
Combine all ingredients into a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce the heat to low and let it simmer until it begins to thicken. Reduce until it’s a syrup consistency.
Pour the sauce over the hot bread pudding.