Bread Pudding

Whenever this staple dessert was listed on a menu, I happily avoided it. I’m not sure if it was the bread part of the description or the pudding. The closest I get to bread being a dessert is French toast. And pudding…well, let’s just say my biggest impressions of it involved the chocolate version in a Bill Cosby commercial.

Not too long ago, I had the opportunity to have a taste. Simply made and served with hard sauce, it was delectable, sweet, and satisfying. Essentially, it’s a great way to use stale bread. Regardless of the recipe, it breaks down to three essential ingredients that make up this dish: bread, eggs, and cream. You make a custard with the eggs and cream then soak the bread in it giving it the moisture it needs.

It’s not just a dessert, however. While it is often served that way, it has savory sisters. Ina Garten has a fantastic recipe for a mushroom, pancetta, and leek bread pudding that she usually serves for Thanksgiving. It’s crusty on top but moist inside. Stuffing perfection!

Bread pudding has many iterations in the dessert category and has a long history dating back well before the Civil War. There are bread pudding recipes in one form or another across the globe. Add chocolate, dried fruits, or nuts. Different spices like vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg are often included. Consider pumpkin, apple, coconut or even dulce de leche. For the hard sauce often served with it, rum, bourbon and whiskey are typically added. I used Grand Marnier simply because I had it on hand. Plus, it sounded really good.

Bread is a canvas for just about any flavor profile you can come up with. You can use cinnamon bread or a leftover baguette—anything leavened, really. In this case, I used brioche. I love that for French toast, so I pretty much assumed it would be phenomenal for this. Please note: the water bath is essential for the eggs and cream in the recipe. They get grainy without it.

Here’s the recipe I used:

Pudding:

4 large eggs

1 c. whole milk

1 c. whipping cream

¼ c. sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Pinch of salt

4 cups day-old bread

½ cup pecans, toasted, and chopped (optional)

Butter 8-inch square baking dish. Whisk first 6 ingredients in medium bowl. Place bread and pecans in prepared dish. Pour milk mixture over and let stand 5 minutes. Push down bread into custard. Refrigerate 2 hours, pushing bread into custard occasionally.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Place bread pudding in large metal baking pan. Add enough boiling water to baking pan to come 1 inch up sides of dish with bread pudding. Bake until pudding is puffed and golden brown on top, approximately 50 minutes. Remove dish with bread pudding from water and cool slightly. Cut into squares. Serve bread pudding warm with sauce.

Sauce:

¼ c. unsalted butter

½ c. sugar

3 TB whipping cream

2 TB Grand Marnier

Pinch of salt

Melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in remaining ingredients. Simmer until thickened, whisking often, about 3 minutes. Cool slightly.