How to Make Bread Pudding

Guide Note

Bread pudding is made by soaking pieces of bread in a mixture of milk, sugar and eggs. It's a great dish to make with leftover, stale bread that's otherwise unusable. How to Make Bread Pudding will show you how.

Bread Pudding Tips

Use stale bread to make your pudding.
Accompany your bread pudding with a sweet sauce.
Serve leftover bread pudding for breakfast.
Experiment by adding your own spices.

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Introduction

Bread pudding was invented by cooks who couldn't afford to waste stale bread by throwing it out. Instead, they would break a stale loaf up and mix it with other ingredients before baking it to get rid of the stale flavor. Eventually, bread pudding became a Christmas tradition for many families. It's delicious served hot or cold and is often offered with a sweet liqueur sauce.¹

What You'll Need

(Creative Commons photo by Jessica)

Ingredients

1 loaf French bread, or similar bread
3 tablespoons butter
6 eggs
4 cups milk
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Equipment

Medium casserole dish
Whisk or electric mixer

Make the Pudding

(Creative Commons photo by Bart)

This recipe yields 6 to 8 servings. Finish the whole dish off with friends and family, or save some for a delicious morning breakfast.²

Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Grease the bottom and sides of a medium casserole dish.
Cut the loaf of bread into cubes.
Toss together the bread cubes and raisins then put them in the casserole dish.
Whip together the melted butter, eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla.
Pour the liquid mixture over the bread cubes and raisins.
Bake the pudding for about 45 minutes or until set.

Variations

There are many variations on the classic bread pudding. They often include a sweet sauce or topping. You can make your very own version by including different kinds of fruit or experimenting with spices, or you can try one of these interesting recipes:

Epicurious: Bread Pudding Soufflé with Whiskey Sauce.
Epicurious: Bread Pudding with Cheese and Apples
MarthaStewart.com: Chocolate Bread Pudding
MarthaStewart.com: Pumpkin Bread Pudding
All Recipes: Coconut Bread Pudding
Epicurious: Savory Lobster Bread Puddings with Vanilla Chive Sauce

Conclusion

Enjoy your warm bread pudding with a dollop of whipped cream and a smile. Bread pudding is only one of many great Christmas desserts. Once you've got this recipe down, why not explore some others: Christmas bread, Christmas cookies, gingerbread men, Yule logs, and finally—don't forget the Eggnog!

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References for How to Make Bread Pudding

↑ ReluctantGourmet.com: How to Make Delicious Bread Pudding
↑ JoyofBaking.com: Bread Pudding

Traditional Bread Pudding

All Recipes: Bread Pudding I
All Recipes: Bread Pudding III
All Recipes: Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce III
Epicurious: Bread Pudding (2004)
Epicurious: Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce (July 1997)
FoodNetwork.com: The Best Bread Pudding
JoyofBaking.com: Bread Pudding
MarthaStewart.com: Bread Pudding 101
ReluctantGourmet.com: How to Make a Delicious Bread Pudding
Simply Recipes: Bread Pudding Recipe (December 31, 2005)

Bread Pudding Variations

All Recipes: Coconut Bread Pudding
Epicurious: Bread Pudding Souffle with Whiskey Sauce (October 2000)
Epicurious: Bread Pudding with Cheese and Apples (January 2002)
Epicurious: Savory Lobster Bread Puddings with Vanilla Chive Sauce (October 1998)
MarthaStewart.com: Chocolate Bread Pudding
MarthaStewart.com: Pumpkin Bread Pudding