Bread Pudding
Serves 4

Who says doughy white supermarket “French Bread” (aka dws”fb”) isn’t good for anything? I had a loaf I was planning to photograph and didn’t, and it was a cold rainy night so I did what any seasoned dessert lover would do, I made bread pudding. While that kind of bread isn’t good for much, it just happens to be the best choice for bread pudding because it’s light, over processed texture translates into a very delicate pudding. As luck would have it I also had an almost full pint of half and half. Score!

What I love about bread pudding is that it can be so many different desserts or side dishes by just changing what is added to the custard/bread combination. This time I added dried plums, a little orange extract and some rum. The sauce was melted orange marmalade with a splash of brandy.

Hints

1. If you are adding dried fruit to the custard, soak it for 10 minutes in brandy or the vanilla extract so it will soften and absorb the flavor.
2. I cooked this recipe in a cast iron dish. It worked really well.
3. Without sugar, bread pudding is the base for wonderful savory side dishes. Check out the Caramelized Onion Bread Pudding recipe* from my cookbook. How about Sharp Cheddar Cheese Bread Pudding or Sautéed Leeks and Ham or Sun dried Tomato, Basil and Proscuitto…

*Editor’s note: Caramelized Onion Recipe and Caramelized Onion Bread Pudding Recipe will be Heidi’s next two posts.

Ingredients

¼ cup dried fruit (I used plums, pitted and cut into quarters)
½ oz. brandy
2 thick slices DWS”FB” (see first sentence above)
3 large eggs
1 ¼ cup half and half
½ tsp. vanilla extract (or orange, almond etc.)

Procedure

Preheat oven to 375. Butter the baking pan (8×8)

1. Soak fruit in brandy. Break bread into bite size pieces.
2. Put remaining ingredients into a mixing bowl and hand whisk or beat with an electric mixer until thoroughly blended. Add fruit and brandy and mix.
3. Put bread pieces into the prepared pan and pour custard mixture over the bread, gently submerging pieces that float to the top. Let it set up for a few minutes so the bread soaks up the liquid.
4. Set the pan in a larger pan and pour hot water into the larger pan, half way up the side of the smaller pan. If you are baking in cast iron, do not use a water bath.
5. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the top is puffed up, golden brown and the center moves only slightly when you jiggle the pan. Cool for at least 30 minutes before serving. As it cools it will deflate slightly.