Bread pudding question

[Canice]

I did not grow up eating bread pudding, but when I moved to this neighborhood 20+ years ago I discovered a delicious chocolate bread pudding at a local place: it was big chunks of soft bread with swirls of chocolate and cinnamon through it, maybe a creme anglais.
After that I would occasionally order bread pudding in restaurants but never liked it because it was more like a soggy cake - I guess the bread/custard just replacing the regular flour mixture.
When I made pumpkin bread pudding yesterday, I had cubed the bread and left it out for over 24 hours to get good and hard; it cooked up with mostly large chunks preserved, with a nice crunch on top.

I'm wondering how others make/enjoy bread pudding; are those two distinct styles, or am I taking the cubed bread part too literally?

[Hammster]

When I make my New Orleans style bread pudding, I buy 2 baguettes a day or 2 ahead and let them get good and stale as is. Then when making the pudding I tear them into roughly bite sized, yet uneven, pieces. This was mentioned as a very important part of the recipe per the instructor at the New Orleans School of Cooking. Then, when adding the eggs/milk mixture, add some and let it settle in. Add some more and let it settle in. It can take a good 30 minutes with adding the mixture and letting it settle. The combo of bread and liquid should end up roughly the texture of slightly wet oatmeal. Sometimes I don't even use all the liquid. Into the oven it goes to bake. The top tends to dry out a bit, but everything else stays nice and moist. I like the contrast of the dry top and moist rest of it.

[sneezles]

Love bread pudding either savory or sweet. I do cube the bread and dry in the oven as it helps the pieces keep their shape. With the dressing I made yesterday it sat in the fridge for about 3 hours to absorb the sauce. It was pure heaven!:p

[Gail]

I don't know if there are officially different styles or not. I have three recipes I favor, a chocolate (with a filling of chips), a New Orleans style and a Cuban style (family recipe.) In all the New Orleans and Cuban recipes, the oatmeal description works well for the batter. The chocolate one retains a bit more integrity of the bread cube shapes.

How long you bake it is obviously going to play into the consistency as well. My mom likes the Cuban bread pudding very dry, which means baking the darned thing like 1 hour 40 minutes or so and it ends up more of a dense bar concoction you can eat with your hands.

[Middydd]

My bread pudding is the soggy cake style, that's how it was made when I was a kid and that's still how I like it.

The chunkier bread textured type just doesn't seem like pudding to me.

[LakeMartinGal]

When I make my New Orleans style bread pudding, I buy 2 baguettes a day or 2 ahead and let them get good and stale as is. Then when making the pudding I tear them into roughly bite sized, yet uneven, pieces. This was mentioned as a very important part of the recipe per the instructor at the New Orleans School of Cooking. Then, when adding the eggs/milk mixture, add some and let it settle in. Add some more and let it settle in. It can take a good 30 minutes with adding the mixture and letting it settle. The combo of bread and liquid should end up roughly the texture of slightly wet oatmeal. Sometimes I don't even use all the liquid. Into the oven it goes to bake. The top tends to dry out a bit, but everything else stays nice and moist. I like the contrast of the dry top and moist rest of it.
I made this recipe, too... but I made it a couple of hours ahead, so I could clean the kitchen, then put it in the oven at the right time. It was crunchy on top, and moist in the middle. Perfect!:D

[funniegrrl]

Bread pudding is like chili -- there are just different styles. My personal preference is somewhere between completely homogeneous and very distinct chunks-o-bread. I like a little texture but the bread has to have really absorbed the custard before cooking. I don't like it super-dry on top unless there's LOTS of sauce.

[ljt2r]

Funny I just posted a possibly related question on the pumpkin make ahead breakfast thread. I ahve never made bread pudding before so cannot answer Canice's question, but am hoping to find an answer to my question since it seems related:

Some of these (pumpkin bread puddings on the other thread) call for being made and then baked immediately. Can any bread pudding recipe be made the night before? I am especially looking at this recipe (http://www.bigblackdogs.net/2009/11/pumpkin-bread-pudding-with-cinnamon.html). I am usually the last to get up so the idea of making this the morning of does not sit well. it would be better if DH could just throw it in the oven.

(I forgot the kids would not be here Thurs AM so I am serving this tomorrow).

Oh and also of relevance to this thread, I only got the pumpkin pie brioche cubed and sitting out about 2 hours ago, forgot to do it this morning before leaving the house....

Canice: what recipe did you use?

ETA maybe I should put the brioche in the oven on 200 F to dry out faster?
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[Linda in MO]

I only got the pumpkin pie brioche cubed and sitting out about 2 hours ago, forgot to do it this morning before leaving the house....

ETA maybe I should put the brioche in the oven on 200 F to dry out faster?
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For my stuffing, I dry my bread cubes in the oven at 225 for about 40 minutes or so...tossing them every once in a while. They get to be dry like a crouton. I'm not sure if that is how dry your bread needs to be for bread pudding though.

[funniegrrl]

IMHO, bread for bread pudding should not be crouton-dry. You want it a little dry so that it soaks up the custard mixture well, but having it so dry so that you can still discern individual cubes after baking isn't desirable. In a stuffing? Sure. In a bread pudding? No.

As for making ahead, most bread pudding recipes I've made call for soaking the bread in the custard at LEAST an hour before baking. An overnight soak is not a problem. If you ever made a strata or "breakfast casserole" or "baked french toast" -- those are really just variations on bread pudding. Those almost always call for soaking several hours if not overnight.

Bread pudding that is baked ahead is fine, too. Because of the egg content, bread pudding fresh out of the oven is going to an almost souffle-like quality. As it cools, it will fall as many custard-based baked goods do. The fallen version to me is just as tasty as the hot-out-of-the-oven version and no less desirable. Just gently reheat in the oven or even microwave before serving. I like my bread pudding warm or even cold, but not piping hot.

[Gumbeaux]

This is how I like my bread pudding prepared. If it is too dry, the flavor seems to be "locked up". If it is too "runny", the texture just doesn't seem right.

Photo from ehow (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto/Articles/5273840/bread-pudding-a_Full.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.ehow.com/how_5273840_use-up-stale-bread.html&usg=__YgyiaFYeRU73AmGlelsKXzOKJxo=&h=333&w=500&sz=30&hl=en&start=469&sig2=GqAa-nSQwFkqEcuBhhzQeQ&um=1&tbnid=lg0xQmCWSsCMGM:&tbnh=87&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbread%2Bpudding%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den %26safe%3Doff%26rlz%3D1B3GGGL_enUS176US231%26sa%3D N%26start%3D460%26um%3D1&ei=GnoQS_7-H5LENZez3DM).

http://i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto/Articles/5273840/bread-pudding-a_Full.jpg

[Hammster]

That's how mine comes out Gumbeaux. Including the sauce.

[Canice]

Canice: what recipe did you use?

Here it is, Laura. It had the perfect texture for me: spongy on the bottom but distinct bread cubes on top. I made a half recipe and love that it comes together so quickly (not a baker!). The recipe you linked to looks wonderful!

Pumpkin Bread Pudding
Gourmet | October 2007

Soft cushions of country bread soaked with rich custard; there's no better dessert to cozy up with on a chilly autumn evening than this sultry bread pudding, fragrant with warm spices.
Makes 6 servings

1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs plus 1 yolk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
Pinch of ground cloves
5 cups cubed (1-inch) day-old baguette or crusty bread
3/4 stick unsalted butter, melted


Preheat oven to 350F with rack in middle.

Whisk together cream, pumpkin, milk, sugar, eggs, yolk, salt, and spices in a bowl.

Toss bread cubes with butter in another bowl, then add pumpkin mixture and toss to coat. Transfer to an ungreased 8-inch square baking dish and bake until custard is set, 25 to 30 minutes.

[Gumbeaux]

That's how mine comes out Gumbeaux. Including the sauce.


Yeah, the sauce is important and is something Mrs. Gumbeaux and I fight over when we share bread pudding at a restaurant. :)

If you grab a spoon to eat it or if you have trouble getting every last drop of it with a fork, it was probably cooked properly. If you can eat all of it with a fork without any of it left on the plate or bowl, it was probably too dry (in my opinion).

[ljt2r]

Here it is, Laura. It had the perfect texture for me: spongy on the bottom but distinct bread cubes on top. I made a half recipe and love that it comes together so quickly (not a baker!). The recipe you linked to looks wonderful!

Pumpkin Bread Pudding
Gourmet | October 2007

Soft cushions of country bread soaked with rich custard; there's no better dessert to cozy up with on a chilly autumn evening than this sultry bread pudding, fragrant with warm spices.
Makes 6 servings

1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs plus 1 yolk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
Pinch of ground cloves
5 cups cubed (1-inch) day-old baguette or crusty bread
3/4 stick unsalted butter, melted


Preheat oven to 350F with rack in middle.

Whisk together cream, pumpkin, milk, sugar, eggs, yolk, salt, and spices in a bowl.

Toss bread cubes with butter in another bowl, then add pumpkin mixture and toss to coat. Transfer to an ungreased 8-inch square baking dish and bake until custard is set, 25 to 30 minutes.

I ended up completely toasting my bread in the oven and making up my own recipe. I am relieved to see the liquid to dry ratio is not too off from yours. A bit but not wildly. I think I was going for something sweeter than you--probably to make up for the fact that I still have not gotten pumpkin pie this season. :o:D

DH will stick it in the oven tomorrow am....