Recipe-Bread and Butter Pudding
Bread and Butter Pudding
Turn a simple loaf of bread into a luscious, comforting dessert, using staple ingredients you probably already have!
INGREDIENTS
• 8 heaped cups white bread, preferably slightly stale, cut into 2.5 cm / 1″ cubes (see Note 1 if for pre-sliced bread)
• 1 cup sultanas or raisins (or more!)
EGG MIXTURE:
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk (low or full fat, not zero fat)
• 1 cup heavy / thickened cream (or any other cream, Note 2 for more milk option)
• tbsp / 40g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
1. Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (all oven types)
2. Egg Mixture: Place eggs in a large bowl, whisk briefly. Add remaining Egg Mixture ingredients and whisk.
3. Soak Bread: Add bread and sultanas, briefly mix, then set aside for 3 minutes to allow egg mixture to soak through the bread.
4. Transfer to baking dish: Pour into a baking dish (10 cup / 2.5 litre / 2.5 quart). If you have lots of sultanas on the surface, poke them below the surface. (See note 3)
5. Drizzle then bake: Drizzle over melted butter, then bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until golden on top and the inside is set but still slightly wobbly (poke to check).
6. Brush with remaining 1 1/2 tbsp melted butter (optional), then dust with icing sugar.
7. Serve – rest for a few minutes, then serve immediately with toppings of choice!..We recommend custard or Icecream!
Recipe Notes:
1. Bread – Though the classic version is made with plain white bread, you can make this with any bread of choice – like raisin bread, hot cross buns, brioche, anything! Artisan bread with very thick chewy crusts- eg. some types of sourdough: these can be used if they are fresh or a bit stale. Do not use if they are super stale and dried out – they will be rock hard (ie you can’t even tear them, you have to saw through them with a serrated knife) so not suitable for this recipe. Gluten free – absolutely works, it just comes down to how good the GF bread is. Pre-sliced bread: Also terrific made with PRE SLICED sandwich bread slices! Use 12 slices (thick cut) or 14 slices (normal thickness), cut in half into triangles then layer in the baking dish slightly overlapping (so surface isn’t flat), scatter each layer with sultanas, and pour egg mixture over the whole thing. Slightly stale bread works a bit better because it doesn’t soak through instantly and turn into mush. If using super fresh bread, just be a bit more gentle when tossing into Egg Mixture
2. Cream – The basic Bread & Butter Pudding recipe is made with only milk, you can use cream to give this a bit of richness. Just milk option: Add an extra egg (so 4 eggs in total) then use milk instead of cream (so 2 1/2 cups milk in total). You need the extra egg to ensure this sets because milk is not as thick as cream.
3. Sultanas have a tendency to brown a bit too much in this bake time. So while some on the surface is fine, you don’t want too many. So if lots end up on the surface, poke them in a bit!
4. While delicious made with sliced bread, it’s even better made with cut/torn loaf or rolls because you get a WAY better crunchy surface and the texture of the inside is better – more custardy (due to larger bread pieces), fluffier and can be cut with straight sides and stacked on plates so it sits tall and impressively.
5. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. If made using chunks of bread as per recipe, it will even keep the crunchy topping even if reheated in the microwave!