Bread Pudding

You can use any kind of bread for a bread pudding and you can also use any kind of custard to fill it. You want to make sure that the flavours you are using compliment each other, or contrast each other that is still pleasing. Different choices that you can make are to substitute the kind of milk/cream that you use for the recipe making it pair better with a richer or less rich bread; for instance you would not want to use heavy cream with a brioche formula because the mouth feel will be too dense for most people.

This formula is modified from the formulas in the Michel Suas Book Advanced Bread and Pastry, A Professional Approach, Pg. 626 and pg. 633

Formula: yields 1 hotel pan and 5 souffle cups
5 kg Crème Brûlée
602 g Bread, large diced
8 oz. Figgs*, remove stems
12 oz. Almonds*, slivered

*These are flavour and texture additives that are optional and also interchangeable for any sweet or savory item.


MOP: large assembly

• Cut bread into a large dice, 1" cubes. Line on a sheet pan. 
• Bake the bread cubes in a oven that is above 300° F until the bread is hard and slightly golden. 
• Remove and let cool.

• Make the Crème Brûlée
• Line a hotel pan with the bread cubes
• Pour the Crème Brûlée over the bread cubes.
• Push down on the bread cubes so that they can fully absorb the liquid. If you do not do this step your bread pudding will unevenly bake and some of your cubes will retain more moisture while the others remain dry. This will make it difficult to tell when the bread pudding is baked.
• Bake in a water bath in a deck oven on a rack at 375° F for approximately 30 minutes. You can test for doneness by pushing down on the bread cubes, if water does not come up then the custard is set.
• Remove from oven and let it cool before refrigerating.
• Chill completely before serving.

Individual Make Up: one variation

• Cut circles the size of a souffle cup out of the bread. Toast the bread like for the large make up.
• Place the circle on the bottom of a souffle cup.
• Place a layer of figs on top, then a layer of almonds. 
• Pour the Crème Brûlée over each mold, letting the fillings come up to the surface in a natural way.
• Bake in a water bath. Bake at 375°F for approximately 15-20 minutes.
• Cool and refrigerate before un panning.

This one was underbaked. The
custard should look firmer.

• When the individual cups are cool, place in a hot water bath to warm up the sides of the souffle cup.
• Turn the cup over onto a plate, the custard should fall out. If it doesn't fall immediately then tap the top gently, or push in the sides gently until the custard falls out. 

I like this make up for the individual bread pudding because it looks more rustic. It also allows for the dessert to still look like a custard with a dense crust, that is now on the bottom of the plate. You can easily garnish this with figs and almonds to accentuate the items that you can not see until you cut into the dessert.