Bread Pudding

Have you ever stuck some kind of bread into the deep freeze and then forgot about it? It happens to me from time to time and I want to be able to still use it, even if it's really not good for what it was originally intended for. The perfect example was this package of Kaiser rolls. Bread pudding feels like the obvious solution to me. I suppose you could also make croutons or stuffing out it, but bread pudding is a dessert, so in my book, that wins!

But I wanted to be able to documents the steps and proportions needed so that I can do this again in the future with different kinds of bread items and tighten down the recipe to make it better and better. Anyway, here is my most recent attempt of what I did and how I did it, for future reference. Enjoy!

Marsha's Bread Pudding

Ingredients: (for a large package of bread... see notes for making smaller batches)

• 1 large package of bread (12 buns)
• 3 1/2 cups milk
• 1 Tbl vanilla
• 1 Tbl ground cinnamon
• 2 Tbl sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2-1 cup brown sugar (for topping)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cube up your bread into bite-sized (crouton-sized) pieces.
3. Mix together all the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the brown sugar.
4. Pour over your bread pieces and toss to coat.
5. Place in a greased baking dish large enough to hold your mixture. 
• In this case, I used a glass baking dish that is just one size larger than a 9x13 pan... I believe it's a 10x15. 
• But if your 9x13 isn't big enough and you don't have a 10x15, you can always try using two square 8x8 or 9x9 pans.
6. Sprinkle with enough brown sugar to coat the top.
7. Let sit covered with a lid or foil for at least 2 hours (or overnight) for the custard mixture to fully absorb into the bread.
8. Bake for 30 minutes or until the bottom and outside are starting to brown, the internal temperature is at least 160 degrees (or more), and the middle appears to be set and not soupy.

Marsha's Notes:

I like to eat mine in a bowl with some milk in the bottom, heated up for a slightly in the microwave (30 seconds or so), topped with whipped cream. If I have them, I also put on a sprinkling of chopped candied pecans for crunch.

Depending on how much bread you are using, if things are a little bland, you can add a drizzle of syrup over the top (maple, buttermilk, etc.), extra brown sugar, or cinnamon sugar to your bowl. This batch was just "okay" eaten as is, but was really good doctored up with some extra syrup. Maple makes it perfect for having for breakfast.

You can also add fruit and nuts to the mixture (not everyone in our house agrees on what mix-ins to use, so this time I made it rather plain). Some ideas are to mix in your desired amount of dried fruit, pie filling (like apple or peach), or chopped nuts (candied/sugared or otherwise).

This package of Kaiser rolls was rather large (kind of like big hamburger buns), so if I was trying to use up a smaller package of dinner rolls or a regular loaf of bread or something, I would need to cut back on the milk, eggs, and other possible ingredients. Basically, this recipe is just a jumping off point. For reference, a single square pan (8x8 or 9x9) of other bread pudding recipes I have made call for more like 2 to 4 eggs and 1 1/2 to 2 cups of milk (or half-and-half, or cream, etc.).

It is important to let the mixture soak and set for a couple of hours before you bake. With this batch, initially I felt like the bread soaked up the liquid really well as I stirred it and it wasn't going to need to sit before baking. However, once the bread pudding was cooled, I can see places where some of the bread is more dry instead of soft, moist and cakey. So letting it sit and soak turns out to be a step I would not skip in the future.

Here are some pictures for reference. I feel like the pictures are a bit deceiving though, because this tan bowl I am using is my biggest bowl in the house. We are talking between 18-24 inches in diameter, which is why I needed my "bigger than a 9x13 pan" to bake this. A 9x13 might have been big enough if I filled it to the tippy top, but then might bake time could possibly be more like 45-60 minutes.

Here are the rolls I used. There are two layers of buns in this bag, for a total of 12 rolls.

Dry bread all cubed up.

Egg mixture added. You can see that it is very moist without being soupy, and some of the bread was even kind of disintegrating as I stirred it together, so be sure not to over mix. This disintegration was why I thought the mixture didn't need to sit and soak before baking, but it actually did. In the future, I wouldn't be scared to even make my mixture a little bit more wet with a touch more milk/egg mixture.

Spread in the pan.

Topped with brown sugar, for reference on how much.

Baked and all done!

In my bowl, heated with milk and whipped cream. After I snapped this picture, I sprinkled on some chopped candied pecan bits and a drizzle of buttermilk syrup.

While yummy, this batch was a touch boring, which is why it ended up needing the nuts and the syrup, but in the future I can either add more goodies to the base mix, or just keep doctoring up in the individual bowls when served. Either way, it's a way better use for some old bread, rather than throwing it in the garbage.