Looking for a good bread pudding recipe

[Alan]

My grandmother used to make a terrific "dry" bread pudding in a cast iron skillet, unfortunately since i'm no cook, I don't have a clue as to how to do it. Pleas help

[brook]

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "dry," Alan. All bread puddings are dryish, unless served with a sauce.

My favorite comes from the Beaumont Inn, near Harrodsburg:

Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce The Beaumont Inn

1 lb old bread
3 1/4 cups milk
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup pecans, broken
1/4 cup raisins

Tear bread into medium pieces. Add sugar and cinnamon. Mix milk, lightly beaten eggs, and vanilla. Add to mixture. Let sit for awhile, so bread absorbs milk mixture

Place 1/2 mix in casserole or baking dish. Layer pecans and raisins. Top with rest of the mix. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until lightly brown. Server warm with Bourbon Sauce.

Bourbon Sauce

1 cup sugar
6 tbls butter, melted
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tbls (or more) bourbon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbls white corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients together in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Serve warm.

[landarc]

Brook, that sounds good, and the warm bourbon sauce, is, of course, required. I made something similar for years, except I would substitute in different breads. The best was a cinnamon/raison bread and a bread made with whole wheat flour, walnuts, cranberries and spices

[brook]

Note, Bob, that I merely said "old bread." That's because I use whatever is to hand.

Generally I save the ends and scrap pieces of home-made bread, keeping it in the freezer until there's enough for a pudding recipe. The actual bread doesn't seem to make much difference in how the final dish tastes.

I also use them for a more upscale version of bread pudding by dicing the bread small, and baking it in individual 2-piece tart pans.

[Alan]

"dry" is just something she called it, she never made the sauce, one thing I do know is that she made hers in a cast iron skillett and it had a nice "crust" to it. Thanks for that recipe and I will definetly try it out.
-Alan

[cornishwoman]

Bread and butter pudding ,classic nursery food.Despite or perhaps because of its innocent ingredients.It was said to be the favourite dessert of the Duchess of Windsor,I can just imagine all those sophisticated dinner party's, then here comes the pud in a silver dish. Its a great way to use up stale bread,not mouldy just stale.
13x13 dish,here's how I make mine.
Butter
slices of bread
4 large eggs
3 cups of milk
half a cup of sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
caster sugar,its just a fine grain sugar.
Butter the bottom and sides of dish,I use a 13x13, don't be wimpy with the butter.I find is easier to cut my bread into triangles to fit ,Layer the bottom and sides with bread,then butter some bread and place it butter side up on the first layer. Whisk the eggs up,add the milk sugar and vanilla,pour over the bread,let it sit for at least half an hour in the fridge.I set my baking dish in a larger dish with a inch or so of water and bake for 45minutes at 325 degrees,or till a tooth pick comes out dry.Just before serving sprinkle with that elusive caster sugar,I don't bother now,I use granulated sugar. You can gussie it up by adding raisins,candied fruit and cream in the mix,I just happen to like it kind of plain.

[flowerpower]

My SIL would just love you, CW. The puds are the thing she misses most from Manchester.

[cornishwoman]

Tell your SIL I made a heart stopping trifle over the weekend but not with those dry old" lady fingers",I made a swiss roll and used up the stale bits for the trifle,only thing that was missing was sherry,have you seen the price of sherry lately, I could have used cooking sherry but I'm kind of partial to a drop harveys bristol cream .I lived in Bolton once, not for very long,kind of like the midlands,real down to earth people ,used to support man united,but eventually went with Leeds,well the boyfriend was from there,don't follow footie any more,cant understand American footie to save my life.

[mjc]

Jul 26, 2010 12:43:22 GMT -5 cornishwoman said:

cant understand American footie to save my life.

It's easy to understand...it's just a little action between beer commercials...

[flowerpower]

Jul 26, 2010 12:43:22 GMT -5 cornishwoman said:

Tell your SIL I made a heart stopping trifle over the weekend but not with those dry old" lady fingers"

I can't tease her like that. lol The trifle sounds delicious.

[qahtan]

Bread pudding this is how it was made in London in the good old days, It is not Bread and Butter pudding so often made and called bread pudding. this to me is the real thing lots of spices in it..
bread pudding, well I just use what I have, depending on how much bread I have, any thing whole wheat or white, fruit buns, raisin bread etc. This is just the way I make it, not any particular recipe.
but I pulse the bread in the Cuisinart to crumbs, if I don't think I have enough I just freeze them till I do.
to the crumbs I add brown sugar or honey to taste, and some soft butter, in the old days it was suet but that is not readily available here,
then add some currants, raisins and sultanas lots spice, a couple so eggs and some milk, enough to make all a bit of a slosh mosh,, let the mixture rest a couple hours to soak up the last strays of milk, put into greased pan fork top, I like to line the bottom with a ittle grease proof cos it always sticks. bake at about 400f, till slightly puffed and knife come out chean.. sprinkle top with white sugar, qahtan