As someone who prefers desserts that aren’t overly sweet, bread pudding has long been one of my favorites — the best part is, it’s also wonderfully simple to make! The key is using bread that’s sufficiently stale and dried out so it can soak up the rich custard without falling apart and becoming soggy. While I love classic raisin bread pudding, you can easily make it your own by swapping the raisins for other dried or fresh fruits, or even toasted nuts.
WHAT IS THE BEST BREAD TO USE FOR BREAD PUDDING?
You can use just about any type of bread to make bread pudding. The best choices are eggy breads — like challah or brioche — that can soak up the custard without falling apart and turning to mush. Although, I often use a French loaf (pictured above) because it is more readily available in my area and works perfectly! For best results, I recommend getting the freshly made loaves from the bakery section of your grocery store (and drying them out in the oven yourself).
HOW TO TELL WHEN BREAD PUDDING IS DONE BAKING
Bread pudding will typically puff up and turn golden brown on top when it is done baking. A wooden skewer or knife inserted into the centre should come out clean. But, like any custard, the centre may jiggle slightly when shaken. For the perfect consistency, I suggest a baking time of 45 to 55 minutes for this recipe (depending on your oven and the size of your baking dish). However, if you don’t like your bread pudding super soft in the centre, I would suggest baking it for the full 55 minutes (or even slightly longer, if necessary).
HOW TO SERVE AND STORE BREAD PUDDING
After your bread pudding is out of the oven, I recommend letting it sit and firm up for at least 20 minutes before serving — but the longer the better! In my opinion, the texture and flavor of bread pudding is at its best after resting in the fridge overnight. Regardless, once the bread pudding is cooled, you can place a piece of plastic wrap over it and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days. After it’s been chilled, you can either serve it cold or reheat it in the microwave.
PREPARING THE BREAD
Preheat your oven to 350℉.
Cut the bread into 1″ to 1 ½” cubes and place them on a baking sheet.
Place the bread cubes into the centre of your preheated oven for 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, remove the bread, stir it around, and place it back into the oven for an additional 5 minutes, or until the bread feels firm and dry (but not browned). Set aside to cool while preparing the other ingredients.
PREPARING THE RAISINS AND CUSTARD MIXTURE
Place the raisins and 3 Tablespoons of dark rum, bourbon, or water into a small bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the microwave for 1 minute. Remove the raisins from the microwave and set them aside, covered, to continue to absorb the liquid.
In a very large bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and salt until homogenous.
Next, whisk in the heavy cream, whole milk, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and melted butter until smooth.
ASSEMBLING AND BAKING THE BREAD PUDDING
Place the cubed, dried bread into the bowl with the custard mixture. Using a rubber spatula or large spoon, gently press the bread into the custard, stirring carefully so as not to break up the bread into mush. Allow the bread mixture to sit for 10 minutes, until the custard has been absorbed.
In the meantime, be sure your oven is still at 350℉ and grease a 9”x9” or 8”x10” baking dish with melted butter.
Pour half of the bread mixture into your baking dish, followed by ⅔ of the raisins.
Empty the remaining bread mixture on top, followed by the remaining ⅓ of the raisins. Gently press the mixture into the dish and then allow to sit for another 5 minutes.
Bake the bread pudding in the centre of your preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes, until puffed up and golden brown on top. The bread pudding may jiggle slightly in the centre. However, I always err on the side of caution as undercooked bread pudding can turn out soggy!
Remove the bread pudding from the oven and allow it to rest for at least 20 minutes before serving. In this time, the bread pudding will firm up and collapse slightly back down into the dish — this is totally normal!
Pro tip: For optimal texture and flavor, I prefer to let my bread pudding rest for as long as possible, even overnight in the fridge before serving!
Once cooled to room temperature, cover any remaining bread pudding with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator.
MAKING THE CUSTARD SAUCE (optional)
In a saucepan, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and salt until well combined.
Next, pour in the heavy cream and milk, and whisk until smooth.
Place the saucepan over medium heat and stir constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. It should read about 170℉ on a thermometer.
Remove the sauce from the head and swirl in the butter.
Finally, stir in the vanilla, followed by the rum or bourbon (or additional vanilla).
Allow the sauce to cool for at least 10 minutes. Note, the custard sauce will thicken as it cools.
Pro Tip: If you are worried about lumps in your custard sauce, you can pass it through a sieve at this point.
To store your custard sauce, place the sauce in a bowl or deli container and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the sauce to prevent a skin from forming. Cool to room temperature before storing in the fridge.
Old-Fashioned Bread Pudding with Raisins
Ingredients
- 1 lb (450g) loaf of bread (I like challah, brioche, or French loaf; see Notes, below)
- 4 eggs + 2 egg yolks
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¾ tsp kosher salt (I use Diamond Crystal)
- 1 ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 ½ cups whole milk
- 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled (plus more for greasing the baking dish)
- ½ cup raisins
- 3 Tbsp dark rum, or bourbon whiskey (or water if not using alcohol)
For the Custard Sauce (optional)
- 2 eggs + 2 egg yolks
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3 Tbsp dark rum, or bourbon whiskey (or additional 1 tsp pure vanilla extract)
Instructions
Preparing the Bread
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Cut bread into 1" – 1 ½" cubes and set them on a baking sheet. Bake in the center of preheated oven for 5 minutes.1 lb (450g) loaf of bread
- Remove bread cubes from oven, gently stir, then return to oven until bread feels firm and dry, but not browned (about 5 minutes more). Set aside to cool.
Preparing the Raisins and Custard Mixture
- In a small bowl, soak raisins in dark rum or bourbon (or water). Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 1 minute. Set aside, covered, to allow the raisins to continue to absorb the liquid.½ cup raisins3 Tbsp dark rum, or bourbon whiskey
- In a very large bowl, whisk together eggs, egg yolks, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and salt until homogenous.4 eggs + 2 egg yolks⅓ cup granulated sugar½ cup light brown sugar, packed¾ tsp kosher salt
- Whisk in heavy cream, whole milk, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and melted butter until smooth.1 ½ cup heavy cream2 ½ cups whole milk1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract2 tsp ground cinnamon⅛ tsp ground nutmeg¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Assembling and Baking the Bread Pudding
- Place the cubed, dried bread into the bowl with the custard mixture. Using a rubber spatula or large spoon, gently press the bread into the custard, stirring carefully (so as not to break up the bread into mush). Allow the bread mixture to sit until the custard has been absorbed (about 10 minutes).
- In the meantime, grease a 9”x9” (or 8”x10”) baking dish with melted butter.
- Pour half of the bread mixture into your baking dish, followed by ⅔ of the raisins. Empty the remaining bread mixture on top, followed by the remaining ⅓ of the raisins. Gently press the mixture into the dish. Allow to sit for another 5 minutes.
- Bake in the centre of preheated (350℉) oven until puffed up and golden brown on top (about 45 to 55 minutes).Note: Even when done, the bread pudding may still jiggle slightly in the centre. If unsure, I recommend erring on the side of caution as undercooked bread pudding can turn out soggy.
- Remove the bread pudding from the oven and allow it to cool, at room temperature, for at least 20 minutes before serving. While cooling, the bread pudding will firm up and collapse slightly back down into the dish — this is totally normal.Pro tip: For optimal texture and flavor, I prefer letting my bread pudding rest for as long as possible — even overnight in the fridge — before serving!
- Once cooled to room temperature, cover any remaining bread pudding with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator.
Making the Custard Sauce (optional)
- In a saucepan, whisk together eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and salt until well combined.2 eggs + 2 egg yolks½ cup granulated sugar½ tsp kosher salt
- Pour in heavy cream and milk, and whisk until smooth.1 cup heavy cream1 cup whole milk
- Set the saucepan over medium heat. Cook mixture, stirring constantly (with a whisk or wooden spoon), until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. (It should read about 170℉ on a thermometer.)
- Remove the sauce from the heat and swirl in butter.2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- Stir in vanilla, then rum or bourbon (or additional vanilla).½ tsp pure vanilla extract3 Tbsp dark rum, or bourbon whiskey
- Allow the sauce to cool for at least 10 minutes. (Note: the custard sauce will thicken as it cools.)Pro tip: If you are worried about lumps in the custard sauce, sieve the sauce through a wire strainer.
- To store, pour the sauce into a bowl or deli container and cover with a piece of plastic wrap that makes direct contact with the surface of the sauce (to prevent a skin from forming). Cool to room temperature before storing in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Bread Recommendations: The best bread for bread pudding is an eggy bread that soaks up the custard without falling apart (and turning to mush). I recommend challah, brioche, or simply a French loaf from your local grocery store or bakery.
