This fall, slip into something comforting…Bread Pudding!

The chilly nights have just begun and there’s no better time to make a cozy dessert for those crisp, autumn evenings. What can be simpler than bread pudding? I share two versions, both mostly taken from The Joy of Cooking. My copy is so worn, part of the cover is missing and pages are falling out like leaves from an autumn maple tree. But it’s probably the one cookbook I’d hate to be without.

Bread pudding is extremely easy to make and you can use any kind of regular bread: French, sliced white or wheat bread, challah, brioche, or the one I used for these recipes, a sliced loaf of Hawaiian-style bread. Stale bread works best, but not so stale it’s hard like a crouton. Next time you have a loaf that has lost its spring, this is a yummy way to recycle it.

If your bread isn’t stale, which was my situation, having bought it fresh at the grocery store, you can make it stale in about 20 minutes in the oven, by placing the slices directly on the rack or on a ventilated baking sheet at the lowest oven setting. My oven gets down to 170 degrees, and my bread was stale, but not hard, in little time. (Too bad I missed the one piece that slid off at the back, until I’d baked several other dishes for hours…I wondered what that funny smell was!)

Now, on to the recipes. Have fun playing with these, by adding raisins, chocolate chips, changing the dairy you add to the eggs to cream, half and half, whole or reduced fat milk, adding different extracts to your mixture, adding small bits of apples, even some pureed pumpkin. But these two recipes will give you the basics, and both are perfect served with some whipped cream or a warm rum/bourbon sauce.

A word about the water bath. If you haven’t baked much, don’t let the water bath intimidate you. It’s easy to do and will help your puddings stay creamy, instead of being grainy and watery. Simply find a large cake pan, lasagna pan, or roasting pan that is bigger than your baking dish. Place the baking dish in your pan and put it in the oven. Take some water you’ve heated on the stove and pour into the pan, so the water comes up about half way on your baking dish. That’s it.

So get ready to cozy up some fall evening and enjoy these comforting desserts. You can even bake these several days in advance, keep them in the fridge, and warm them up in a water bath for 15 to 30 minutes before serving.

 

Bourbon Bread Pudding

Prepare a 2-quart baking dish, or several smaller ramekins, by buttering the inside. Layer in

6 cups of bread cubes from stale bread, packed slightly

In a bowl, whisk together well:

4 large eggs

¾ cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons bourbon (more or less to taste)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated if possible

½ teaspoon salt

Whisk in well:

3 cups half and half (or whole milk, or reduced-fat milk)

Pour this mixture over the bread in the baking dish or dishes and let it sit for about 30 minutes, using a spoon to gently press the bread into the custard mixture occasionally, so it’s absorbed well by the bread.

While the bread is soaking, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and get a pan of water simmering on the stove. When the bread is done soaking, follow the directions above for preparing your water bath. Bake for 1 hour or 1 hour 15 minutes for the bigger dish, or about 45 minutes or so for smaller ramekins, or until the middle is firm to the touch the pudding has puffed up slightly. Let cool for a half hour and serve warm, or chill and serve cold.

 

Chocolate Bread Pudding

This recipe is slightly more complicated, but if you’re a chocolate lover, it’s well worth it!

Butter a 2-quart baking dish, or smaller ramekins. Cut bread into cubes, enough for

9 cups of bread cubes, or 1 pound of bread (a heavier bread will have less cups, but absorb more)

For the chocolate mixture, in a microwave-safe measuring cup, whisk together:

1 cup heavy cream

¾ cup sugar

Pinch of salt

Heat to boiling, then add:

2 cups (12 ounces) of bittersweet chocolate chips

Cover and after 2 minutes, whisk the mixture smooth. In another large bowl, and I mean large, which together

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

Add in:

2 cups of whole milk (or do equal parts milk and half and half)

1 tablespoon vanilla

Whisk in the chocolate mixture until completely combined. Gently stir in the bread cubes. Let stand for 1 to 2 hours, stirring once or twice as needed until all the bread has absorbed as much of the chocolate mixture as possible. I kept mine in the refrigerator for part of this time.

Preheat your oven to 325 and spoon the pudding into your buttered dish or dishes, flattening down the surface. Bake in a water bath for 55 minutes or so for the large size, or about 35 minutes for smaller ramekins, until the top is firm. Let cool slightly before serving. Enjoy!