What is your bread pudding?

My soon-to-be wife made a bread pudding yesterday (which I blogged) and I quite liked ... even if the reason she made it was to avoid I would eat all the bread left in the house , it made me wonder ... this is my first bread pudding, how many recipes are out there? What is your recipe of brad pudding (if any)? Let's share.

She made a classical belgian version, with bread raisins, something called honig pepekoeken (package says honey-cake), milk and eggs.

Cheers

Francesco

I made this over the holidays and it was a hit.
From Rachael Ray's Holiday Entertaining in 60
Eggnog-Panettone Bread Pudding
Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray
Show: Food Network Specials
Episode: Rachael Ray's Holiday Entertaining in 60

1 loaf panettone, available in Italian specialty stores, cut in half (enough for about 5 cups, diced)
3 whole eggs
3 egg yolks
3/4 cups sugar
2 cups half-and-half
1/4 cup rum
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Vegetable cooking spray
Optional accompaniments: Vanilla ice cream, Whipped cream


Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.
Place a tea-kettle of water on to boil for a water bath. With a serrated knife, remove the side crusts from the half piece of the panettone. Cut into 3/4 to 1-inch dice. You should have 5 cups. Reserve the cubed panettone in a large mixing bowl.

For the eggnog custard, in another bowl thoroughly whisk together the eggs, yolks, sugar, half and half, rum, vanilla extract, and a healthy grating of fresh nutmeg. Pour this over the bread cubes.

Spray a 12 hole muffin tin with vegetable cooking spray. Ladle the bread/eggnog mixture gently and evenly into the muffin tins. The big cubes sticking up look nice. Place the filled muffin tin in a tall sided cookie sheet or roasting pan. Transfer to the preheated oven and carefully pour the hot water from kettle onto sheet pan, creating a water bath for the muffin tin to sit in.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes until the tops are nicely browned, and a toothpick comes clean from the center.

Bread pudding may be served warm or cold. Vanilla Ice cream or whipped cream would be great accompaniments.

Alternately place the muffin tin in a roasting pan on the stove. Pour in up to 1-inch of boiling water. Cover and cook over medium-high heat for 15 to 20 minutes. The puddings will puff and a toothpick will come out clean from the center. The tops won't brown with this method. Perhaps a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar at serving time would be nice.

What is half-and-half?
It seems nice ... I should have asked this last month when we could still find panettone!!

Francesco

[Robin Garr]

What is half-and-half?

It's a commercial blend of cream and whole milk, sort of like a lighter cream. I guess it must be an American thing, Europeans are always puzzled by it.

You could always just use cream, or mix some cream and some milk together on the spot.

[Robin Garr]

What is your recipe of bread pudding (if any)? Let's share.

In this region where Bourbon is made, Francesco, bread pudding is almost always laced with Bourbon, which is okay with me! It also often contains raisins or other fruit.

Here's a recipe I invented once (and put in a <I>Wine Advisor FoodLetter</I> article back in 2004. It has a little Bourbon but also some Grand Marnier - I gave it citrus flavors because I was designing it to serve with a Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos and thought the Bourbon and orange flavors would complement the wine. If Bourbon is hard to get in Holland, I think you could easily substitute Cognac, but not Scotch!

<b>INGREDIENTS:</b> (Serves four, or two with leftovers)

For the pudding:
1/4 cup (60g) golden raisins
2 tablespoons (30 ml) Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur
2 tablespoons Bourbon
1 small baguette or French or Italian bread, enough to make about 2 cups when cut into small cubes
2 eggs
3/4 cup (180ml) half-and-half or whole milk
1/4 cup (60g) dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon (5g) cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Butter for greasing baking dish

For the caramel sauce:
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur
Finely grated zest of 1 small orange

<b>PROCEDURE:</b>

1. Plump the raisins by soaking them in the Grand Marnier and Bourbon for about a half-hour. Drain, but don't discard the liquid.

2. While the raisins are macerating, cut the bread into smallish cubes a bit larger than 1/2-inch (2 cm) square. There's no need to remove the crust, which will add interesting texture to the pudding.

3. Break the eggs into the blender (or stick blender container) and blend them on high speed until they're very smooth and lemony yellow. Blend in 1/2 cup of the milk or half-and-half (a commercial blend of milk and light cream), the vanilla, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and the liquid reserved from soaking the raisins.

4. Put the bread cubes and raisins in a bowl and stir in the egg mix. Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

5. Toward the end of the hour, preheat your oven to 350F (175C). Stir the remaining 1/4 cup of milk or half-and-half into the bread mix. Grease a small baking dish (5-by-7-by-2-inch or similar) with a little butter, and put in the bread mix. Bake for about 45 minutes, until the top is well browned and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

6. While the pudding is baking, make a simple caramel sauce. Heat the half-and-half almost to the boil (I simply stick it in the microwave for 30 to 45 seconds). Put the sugar in a small nonstick skillet and stir in the vanilla extract. Put it over medium-high heat and caramelize it, watching carefully. It may seem that nothing is happening at first, but the sugar will gradually begin to "sweat" and will then suddenly melt into a thick, clear liquid. Stir it constantly with a wooden spoon, taking care not to splatter yourself (this stuff is as hot as napalm) and being prepared to lift the pan off heat if the sugar darkens too quickly. At some point it will turn yellow, then brown. As soon as it reaches a dark golden-brown color (but not black), remove it from the heat and, pouring gradually, stir in the hot half-and-half. At this point, you can put it back over very low heat and continue stirring, watching out for boilovers, until it's well blended and thick. (This may seem like a finicky or even scary process if you don't do it any more often than I do, but persevere ... the result is worth the effort.) When the sauce is blended, put it in a small bowl or pyrex measuring cup and cool it in the refrigerator. Stir in the Grand Marnier just before serving.

7. Let the bread pudding cool a little before serving. It may be served hot, but I like it after it has cooled to warm room temperature, allowing the flavors to blend. Slice or spoon out individual servings, topping each with a dollop of the caramel sauce. And whipped cream if you like ... we didn't bother, and it's really not needed for the dessert-wine match.

[Jenise]

Can't contribute! Typical of my dislike for sweet things, I don't make sweet bread puddings. But I love savory versions, they're a more than worthy substitute for rice or potato with roasted meats.

Savoury versions? As you can see bread puddings are (sweet or savoury) something I am really not familiar with.

Francesco

As I was reading this, I was eating some French Toast that was really more of a bread pudding than a toast. I used some pannetone for it that had been sitting in its wrapper since New Year's Eve. I thought it might have gone a little bit stale, but it was actually very fresh. So fresh that by the time I soaked a slice in the milk-egg-sugar mix, it had no structural integrity. I dumped it into the pan anyway and fried it up into a somewhat amorphous lump of very rich bread goop.

Are you familiar with French Toast (also called Pain Perdu), Francesco? Take a slice of old bread, soak it in a mix of eggs beaten with milk, sugar, and spices, and then saute in butter.

Mike

Yes! It is my love and nightmare when I got for a full breakfast buffet in US ... I love it, but I know how fatty it is.

White Chocolate Bread Pudding
From the Files of Chef Recipes


Executive Chef Gus Martin, Palace Cafe

Ingredients
6 cups heavy whipping cream
2 cups milk
1 cup sugar
20 ounces white chocolate, broken
into small pieces
4 eggs
15 egg yolks
1 (24-inch) loaf stale French bread or fresh French bread that has been sliced and dried in a 275-degree oven.

White Chocolate Ganache

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
8 ounces white chocolate, broken into small pieces

Garnish

1 ounce dark chocolate, shaved or grated




FOR THE PUDDING

1.Combine the whipping cream, milk and sugar in a large heavy saucepot and mix well. Bring to a boil then remove from the heat. Add the white chocolate pieces and let stand for several minutes or until the chocolate melts; stir until smooth. Whisk the eggs and egg yolks in a large mixing bowl. Whisk in the warm chocolate mixture in a slow steady stream; scrape the saucepot with a rubber spatula to remove all the chocolate.
2.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the French bread into thin slices and place in a 9" x 12" metal baking pan.
3.Pour half the chocolate mixture over the bread and let stand for about 5 minutes. Press the bread into the chocolate mixture with a rubber spatula or fingers to saturate well. Pour the remaining chocolate mixture over the bread and stir to mix well.
4.Cover the pan with foil and bake for 1 hour. Remove the foil and bake for 30 minutes longer or until golden brown. Cool to room temperature and chill, covered, in the refrigerator for 6 to 8 hours or until set.

FOR THE GANACHE

1.Bring the whipping cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat and add the white chocolate pieces. Let stand until the chocolate melts and stir until smooth.
2.Loosen the pudding from the sides of the pan with a knife and invert onto a work surface. Cut into squares, then cut the squares diagonally into triangles. Place the triangles on a baking sheet and reheat at 275 degrees for 15 minutes or until warm.
3.To serve, place the pudding triangles on serving plates and top with the ganache. Garnish with dark chocolate shavings.


8 ounces French bread, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 cup milk (do not use low-fat or nonfat)
1/2 cup sugar
18 ounces good-quality white chocolate (such as Lindt or Baker's),
coarsely chopped
7 large egg yolks
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 275°F. Arrange bread cubes on baking sheet. Bake until light golden and dry, about 10 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to rack; cool completely. Increase oven temperature to 350°F.
Combine 3 cups whipping cream, 1 cup milk and 1/2 cup sugar in heavy large saucepan. Bring to simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Add 10 ounces white chocolate (about 1 3/4 cups) and stir until melted and smooth. Whisk yolks and eggs in large bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in warm chocolate mixture.
Place bread cubes in 2-quart glass baking dish. Add half of chocolate mixture. Press bread cubes into chocolate mixture. Let stand
15 minutes. Gently mix in remaining chocolate mixture. Cover dish with foil.
Bake pudding 45 minutes. Uncover and bake until top is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer pudding to rack and cool slightly. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover with foil and refrigerate. Rewarm covered pudding in 350°F oven for 30 minutes before serving.)
Bring remaining 1/2 cup cream to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Remove saucepan from heat. Add remaining 8 ounces white chocolate and stir until melted and smooth.
Serve pudding warm with warm white chocolate sauce.

Serves 6.

Bon Appétit
December 1996

This looks really tasty!!!!

Francesco

F., Don't let the serves 6 fool you-a small piece goes a long way-but OMG! What a dessert!