The Simple Trick for Bread Pudding With the Good Texture Inside and Out

Within the chilly months of winter there’s nothing I like greater than burrowing my spoon right into a heat, custardy bread pudding. Traditional bread pudding wins the dessert sport on a number of fronts: it is easy, comforting, attention-grabbing, and could be largely made forward. My stand-by recipe, which I’ve perfected over years of testing and honing, options chunks of toasted bread tossed in a vanilla- and cinnamon-scented custard, then layered in a casserole dish and baked till it is pillowy and moist inside with a candy, buttery, and shatteringly crisp prime. It’s cozier than any chunky cable-knit sweater I personal.

A Transient Historical past of Bread Pudding

The origins of bread pudding go way back to the early eleventh century in Britain when inventive, penny-wise cooks sought to discover a use for stale bread. By the thirteenth century, bread pudding—or “poor man’s pudding,” due to its recognition amongst England’s decrease lessons—was firmly within the British culinary canon. These early variations of bread pudding weren’t as luxurious as the sort we all know at present. As a substitute of the custardy combination of cream and eggs with stale bread we love in trendy variations, iterations from centuries previous had been sometimes made with bread soaked in sizzling water and squeezed dry earlier than being blended with sugar and spices after which baked.

Eliza Smith’s 1728 The Compleat Housewife was one of many first cookbooks to characteristic a custard-based conventional bread pudding recipe. Her model featured “a two penny loaf, and a pound of contemporary butter,” together with cream, egg yolks, raisins, and currants. 

These days, bread pudding has shed its “poor man’s pudding” moniker and elaborate variations are present in eating places everywhere in the world. However oftentimes up to date variations of bread pudding are disappointing, various in texture from mushy, sweetened porridge to the chewy, desiccated cousin of overcooked vacation stuffing. The bread pudding I like has a frivolously sweetened, creamy (however not eggy) inside and a crisp prime crust. It is a model I’ve ready at many eating places in addition to household gatherings. Right here’s easy methods to make it at residence.

The Finest Bread for Bread Pudding

Technically this can be a “use any form of bread” recipe, however I strongly encourage you to make use of an eggy enriched loaf akin to brioche or challah. They’re agency however tender sufficient to soak up the custard with out disintegrating, and their eggy, wealthy taste pairs completely with the custard. I’ve examined this recipe with ciabatta, a country French boule, and even a baguette and these variations nonetheless work pretty properly, however the drier, extra ethereal loaves soak up much less of the custard, leading to a barely chewier bread pudding. 

Whereas the early variations of the common-or-garden dish relied on stale leftover bread, that’s not the case with this recipe. Right here I name for a lot bread (greater than a pound) that until you personal or work at a bakery, it is unlikely you will have that a lot stale bread mendacity round. Plus, as our Editorial Director Daniel found when creating his quick-and-easy French toast recipe, bread pudding is likewise higher when it is made with oven-dried bread fairly than stale bread. Oven drying the bread delivers one of the best textures: tremendous crisp and toasty on the surface, whereas yielding (however not mushy) inside. Plus toasting at a gentle low oven temperature of 275°F whereas often stirring the bread cubes ensures every bit of bread is correctly dried out.

The Key Components for a Creamy, Completely Candy Custard for Bread Pudding

This custard will get its wealthy, silky texture from a mix of entire eggs and extra yolks, together with equal components milk and heavy cream (or half and half). What begins as a runny combination that soaks into the bread slowly turns into a velvety custard because the egg yolks prepare dinner, coagulate, and thicken. As we level out in our crème Anglaise recipe, egg proteins are made from strands which can be tightly certain collectively when the egg is uncooked, however after they heat up within the milk and cream, they unfold and detach, and when the combination reaches 165ºF to 180ºF they may reattach, solidify, and thicken right into a clean custard sauce that enriches the bread.

Due to its comparatively impartial taste, the custard base may also be flavored numerous methods by whisking in spices, citrus zest, espresso, or much more. For this primary bread pudding, I stored the seasonings easy. Vanilla extract, floor cinnamon, and nutmeg give this dessert a subtly candy and heat spiced notice. I like to recommend including only a teaspoon of orange zest (my favourite) or lemon zest to the custard. The citrus brightens the pudding and balances its wealthy taste.

Why You Ought to Soak the Bread within the Custard Earlier than Baking

Many bread pudding recipes name for tossing the bread with the ready custard, then transferring the bread to the casserole dish and baking instantly and even simply pouring the custard over the dry bread in a baking dish. However with each of those strategies, as soon as the pudding hits the warmth of the oven, the custard begins setting earlier than it has an opportunity to soak into the bread correctly, which ends up in bread chunks that erratically soak up the custard, leaving some bites unpleasantly dry and crusty and others overly mushy as soon as baked. However briefly soaking the bread within the custard combination earlier than baking ensures that each inch of the bread is saturated so that after baked, it’s pillowy smooth from edge to edge.

Create a Crisp Topping

It’s inevitable that the oven will dry out the floor of the highest items of bread because it bakes. To fight this, I made a decision to offset a few of that dryness by brushing the highest with melted butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar earlier than baking. The result’s a aromatic, candy, and pleasantly crunchy crust that contrasts properly with the tender, custardy inside.

Some Nice Variations for Bread Pudding

One in all my favourite issues about this bread pudding recipe is how versatile it’s—be at liberty to experiment! Whereas it’s fantastic in its easiest type with none additions, be at liberty to stud it with raisins and toasted pecans or any dried fruit or crunchy nut you like. You possibly can even add a half cup of contemporary fruit, akin to raspberries or sliced bananas, into the combination. Not a cinnamon or nutmeg fan? Swap one or each of them for different heat spices, akin to allspice, or cardamom. This recipe is extraordinarily forgiving and adaptable to no matter you are craving (or have readily available). Nevertheless you adapt it, ensure that to serve the bread pudding heat—and if you happen to actually wish to gild the lily, drizzle it with crème Anglaise or an enormous ol’ scoop of ice cream.