Last weekend was a four-day holiday weekend here in Barbados and I made bread pudding to share with friends. One of them messaged me late Saturday night with an accompanying photograph of the remaining quarter of the 8 x 8-inch dish of bread pudding I had made for her. The text accompanying the message said, “As usual, the bread pudding is heavenly. This is all that is left. I have some greedy people in this house. I’m trying to leave some for tomorrow, but it is so difficult”. The following day, Sunday, my other friend who was given the other pan of bread pudding called and asked, quietly, almost sheepishly, “When next you are making bread pudding?”
I have given the bread pudding recipe to both of these people so that they can make it at their leisure and have bread pudding whenever they like, but, and not for the first time, I have been accused, not only by them, of having “secrets” about how the bread pudding is made. I have no secrets. I even wrote a What’s Cooking column (in 2018) giving details, tips, and advice, about making bread pudding that is not dry, full of flavour and good texture. In case you missed the column back then and you are seeking to use up some day or two-day old bread, here are some key points to consider.
As with most things, preparation is key, and in this case, the bread needs to be soaked in the custard for an adequate amount of time for complete absorption. My recommendation is always an overnight soak in the refrigerator with the pudding being brought to room temperature without any hint of chill before being baked. If you don’t have the time for an overnight absorption of bread with custard, then go for at least a 4 to 5-hour absorption at room temperature. The long time is necessary so that the bread relaxes, opens up its crumb and soaks up the flavourful custard.
There needs to be an adequate amount of custard for the bread to soak up as this ultimately will determine the texture of the bread pudding when cooked. Therefore, do not starve the bread of liquid. The custard ingredients are primarily milk, eggs, and sugar. In terms of milk, use a combination of whole milk and cream if you have available. I generally use a combination of whole milk and evaporated milk. For sweetener, you can use sugar – brown or white – or condensed milk. For eggs, use 1 egg for every 2 heaped cups of chopped bread. Spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom work well. Extracts and essences like almond, vanilla, or mixed are also used. Choose flavourings that you like.
Now here’s the other thing – know your bread. What do I mean by this? Well, consider what type of bread you are using – white bread, whole wheat bread, multigrain bread? Bread rolls – sweet or salt? Or are you using sweet bun rolls like Cross Buns? Or what about enriched sweet breads like Challah, Raisin Loaf etc.? The type of bread you are using and the type of flour with which they are made will not only impact the flavour of the bread pudding, but it will also help in determining the amount of custard required. For example, white bread or white rolls are lighter while whole wheat or multigrain breads and rolls are heavier, therefore the latter will need a little extra liquid (custard). Therefore, take this into consideration when making your bread pudding and add extra milk; the same number of eggs and sweetener would be fine as I have recommended.
To determine how much sugar to add to sweeten the bread pudding, I recommend mixing together the milk and sugar first, tasting, and adjusting, before adding the eggs, this way you don’t have to worry about tasting a raw egg mixture. The spices and essence/extract can be added at the same time with the eggs and the mixture beaten until combined before being poured onto the bread.
At first when the bread and custard are combined, you will notice that the bread floats, that is normal because it is light and not yet heavy with the custard; eventually, the bread will become heavy with the custard, using a clean spatula, press the bread even more into the custard then set it in the refrigerator or covered on a countertop in cool part of the kitchen to rest before baking. Remember what I said earlier, if refrigerated, bring the pudding to room temperature without any hint of chill before being baked. The entire bread pudding mixture before baking should be very wet but not runny or watery.
Here is one of my signature touches to bread pudding. Just before putting the pudding into the oven, I mix in some rum-soaked (Christmas fruits) to the pudding mixture. I don’t always do this; it depends on the type of bread I used and if I want to add that hint of Christmas-cake flavour to the bread pudding. If you are using dried fruits like raisins, currants, prunes, cherries or chopped apricots, add them at the same time you are first mixing together the bread with the custard mixture and let them soak in the liquid and plump up too.
Finally, There are two ways to cook the bread pudding in the oven – to pour the mixture into a buttered dish and bake directly, or, in a water bath. If baking the pudding in a water bath, the buttered dish with the bread pudding is placed into a larger baking dish, hot water is poured halfway up the sides of the inner pan and the pudding is cooked gently in the oven. Each method results in a different look and texture of the pudding; equally delicious, it is a matter of personal preference.
The bread pudding baked directly in its pan develops a crust all around and browns nicely. This is my usual way of cooking bread pudding. Be careful not to overcook it though; as soon as it domes fully (including the centre), remove it from the oven and put it on a wire rack to cool. It will deflate and condense; that’s normal. If the pudding is baked in a water bath, there is no browning at the top, bottom or sides. Due to the gentle cooking with indirect heat, this version of the pudding has a somewhat creamy texture when you eat it. Just like custard, remove it from the oven when it has just set, carry over cooking will complete the process.
In both cases, always let the bread pudding rest and set before cutting and serving. If you used the water bath method, remove the dish from the hot water and cool on a wire rack.
Cooking temperature: 350 degrees F.
Cynthia
cynthia@tasteslikehome.org
