Bread Pudding

Does anyone have a great bread pudding recipe they would share?

This is a very basic recipe. The best thing is the Bourbon Sauce that is poured over it after it is dished up.
3 cups milk
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 t. salt
1 T. butter
1 t. vanilla
1/2 c. chopped nuts
1/2 c. raisins or dried cranberries or dried cherries
1/4 t. to 1/2 t. cinnamon
Mix this well and heat it in the microwave until it is just warm. This shortens the oven time. Add:2 well beaten eggs
1 1/2 c. torn or cubed bread--Not too fresh, whole wheat is OK for some of it.
Let this sit until the liquid is absorbed.
Pour into a greased 8” or 9” pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until set. This can easily be doubled and baked in a 9” X 13” pan. Covering the pan with foil for the first 20 minutes will speed cooking and prevent over browning.
Liquor Sauce
When I say beat I mean for you to use a hand mixer. A whisk would do but it would take a lot of whisking
Beat until soft in the top of a double boiler over--not in boiling water: 1/3 c. butter
Add gradually and beat until creamy: 1 c. sifted confectioners sugar
Beat in slowly: 3 T. bourbon or other liquor
Beat in one at a time: 2 egg yolks
Add: 1/2 c. cream
Cook until slightly thickened (it should coat a soup spoon) beating most of the time. It will thicken on the sides and bottom first and this meeds to be incorporated in the the mix in the middle. It is best for the first time to make just a single batch. If you have a large double boiler you can double, but be advised that it more than doubles the cooking/beating time. Use immediately or it can be refrigerated and held. It keeps well. It can be warmed in the microwave is you are ver-r-rcareful.

If you're looking for a more exotic twist, this is my favorite -- I've made it for Valentine's Day and romantic dinners. Please note that it only makes one serving and needs to be multiplied accordingly.

chocolate chile bread pudding Gourmet | February 2005

If you are also making the duck pozole, prepare this dessert while the stew simmers.

Makes 1 serving.

Dinner For One
ingredients
1 tablespoon unsalted butter plus additional for greasing ramekin
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened or extra-bitter), chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup cubes (1/2 inch) firm white sandwich bread (from about 2 slices)

Special equipment: an 8-oz ramekin or a muffin tin with 1-cup muffin cups
Accompaniment: vanilla ice cream (optional)
preparation
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Generously butter ramekin or 1 muffin cup.

Cook butter (1 tablespoon), cream, chocolate, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, cayenne, and a pinch of salt in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in egg until combined. Fold in bread cubes and let stand 5 minutes.

Fill ramekin with bread mixture and bake until puffed and set around edge but still moist in center, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool 5 minutes before serving.

[Robin Garr]

Does anyone have a great bread pudding recipe they would share?

Here's one of the very few desserts that I ever built for an article, Ed, an aromatic, orange-scented version (with a shot of Bourbon) that I created specifically to go with a Hungarian Tokaji dessert wine. It's had a lot of compliments, and even my long-suffering bride, who hates bread pudding, couldn't get enough of it. It needs a quality French or Italian bread ... I didn't mention it in the article since it wasn't just for local consumption, but I used a Blue Dog baguette.

Bread pudding

Thank you Nancy, Nicole and Robin they all look great and I will try my hand at each one!

My personal favorite is the Anti-Atkins Krispy Kreme bread pudding...

It won't help you right now, Ed, but at Christmas I make a bread pudding out of Panetone, the Italian holiday bread. It's very soft and buttery and studded with fruits- makes an amazing dessert.

I stand by my convictions that bread pudding is made best when an equal portion of half stale croissant and brioche is used for the filling.
Buttery, rich, flaky and eggy in their own rights!

Also using a high yield of egg yolks (not whole eggs!) to the cream/custard mixture, will result in a much denser, less runny, and fuller flavor than that of whole eggs or a low egg ratio.

if you're going to make it, do it all out!
get a boat load of eggs, separate them - reserve the whites for something else, and dump a 1:2 ratio(ish) of yolks to cream (not milk) in your custard mix.


i promise you won't regret spending the extra money on more eggs, cream, croissants, and brioche for such a jaw dropping bread pudding!

(final caveat - i hated bread pudding until i started making it this way, myself.)

I agree with Ethan that a great bread pudding should be made with stale bread preferably croissants, and or brioche.
Panettone would be great as also mentioned. I too use french bread, but try to incorporate some croissants in the mix.
Some of the previous recipes would work well with the bread staled- just make sure there is enough moisture so that the
bread is not 'dry' before baking. Another trick I employ is to bake well covered until pudding is set, then remove the
cover and let brown to a golden crust. The added textural qualities are worth it.

Another trick I employ is to bake well covered until pudding is set, then remove the
cover and let brown to a golden crust. The added textural qualities are worth it.

i use this method as well.
I thought it was pretty standard practice.

You allow the custard to evenly set, without over browning the top.
If you bake it uncovered, you risk potentially overcooking the top, or undercooking the custard.

a general rule of thumb with any kind of baked custard...
low and slow. patience.

325 F is usually a safe temp for custards large and small.

Paula Dean had a Krispy Kreme version on her show. It sounded delicious, aside from the can of fruit cocktail in it.

Paula Dean had a Krispy Kreme version on her show. It sounded delicious, aside from the can of fruit cocktail in it.

gross.
(the fruit cocktail part.)

That was my thought exactly. Who wants mushy fruit in bread pudding? Raisins, craisins, currants, I can understand, but a can of mushy fruit in heavy syrup? EW.

That was my thought exactly. Who wants mushy fruit in bread pudding? Raisins, craisins, currants, I can understand, but a can of mushy fruit in heavy syrup? EW.

i mean... whatever you put in it is gonna get even mushier anyway...
so why not throw in some dried or fresh raw fruit?

Another trick I employ is to bake well covered until pudding is set, then remove the
cover and let brown to a golden crust. The added textural qualities are worth it.

i use this method as well.
I thought it was pretty standard practice.

You allow the custard to evenly set, without over browning the top.
If you bake it uncovered, you risk potentially overcooking the top, or undercooking the custard.

a general rule of thumb with any kind of baked custard...
low and slow. patience.

325 F is usually a safe temp for custards large and small.

YESSSSS!!!!! Using this technique you can add all sorts of flavor profiles!

I like to use this as a savory component in some dishes. Rather than the obligatory starch that most people are used to!
It provides an extra "mouth feel" if properly executed.