Tear the croissants into bite sized pieces and place them in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle the pieces with the melted butter.
Use your hands to toss everything together until the croissants are well coated with butter. Set aside.
Whisk together the half and half cream, eggs, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla until smooth.
Pour the egg mixture over the croissant pieces and stir well. Let the croissants sit in the egg mixture while you prepare the apples.
Mix together the diced apples, chopped pecans, sugars, cinnamon, and salt. Stir until everything is well distributed. Set aside.
Let the croissant and apple mixtures sit for a minimum of 30 minutes, and up to two hours, stirring the croissants often.
When you are ready to bake the bread pudding, preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
Lightly brush the inside of an 8 x 8 inch (20 x 20 cm) baking tin with melted butter.
Add the apple mixture to the bowl of croissants. Give everything a good stir to combine, then pour the mixture into the buttered tin.
Spread the bread pudding evenly into the tin then place it in the oven for 45 to 48 minutes, or until the top is golden and the sides are pulling away slightly from the edges of the tin.
Set the bread pudding on a wire rack to cool for 15 to 20 minutes before serving warm with caramel sauce and whipped cream.
Notes
• 10% or half-and-half is (we think) specific to Canada, and it's 1 part whole milk and 1 part whipping cream.