A southern bread pudding using leftover French bread, a can of fruit and finished with a drizzle of whiskey sauce.
Old Fashioned Bread Pudding
Ah, old fashioned bread pudding. A dessert born out of economics and the need to use up stale bread, turned into a delectable, delicious plate of total comfort. You cannot consume a slice of this and help but feel like you just got a big ole hug. And I just so happened to have a half a loaf of French bread leftover from this weekend! Lucky me.
Oh. My. Goodness. Y'all. This is soooooo good.
As always, full recipe text with ingredient list and instructions is down the page a bit. Just scroll or swipe and you'll see it!
While you can use just about any stale breads to make a bread pudding, here in the Deep South, French bread is king.
It's a common addition to our households, so there's often some leftover to stale. It just seems to hold up better to me also.
For this recipe, I'm using a half French bread loaf for a 9 inch square pan. Cube that up and add it to a large bowl. To that, I add a mixture of whole milk with half and half added for a little extra richness. All milk is fine too. Let this rest for 10 minutes.
In a separate small bowl, whisk together 2 large eggs with the sugar and vanilla. The amount of sugar you will use is going to depend on the sweetness of the fruit you add - such as with fruit in its own juice versus fruit in heavy syrup. Somewhere between 1/2 cup to 1 cup works well.
I like to add fruit to my bread pudding. It not only boosts the flavor, but it adds great moisture also. Before you scoff at the use of fruit in this recipe, I challenge you to give it a try first. I got the idea from a recipe shared by Paula Deen for Bill Nicholson's Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding. I even made my own version of glazed doughnut bread pudding!
I often use fruit cocktail, or you can substitute other kinds of fruit, just be sure to drain it well and then just rough chop it. you don't want to pulverize it! Today, I'm using peach halves because that is what I had in the pantry.
I also happen to love this bread pudding with raisins and I prefer mine with golden raisins - some folks just leave them out all together, so it's really up to you!
Stir in the egg mixture into the bread.
Stir until well blended.
Butter a 9-inch square baking dish.
Pour the mixture into the pan
By the way, I'm the only one in the house that really enjoys bread pudding, so although I make this in a small square pan, it also doubles fantastic for a larger pan and what a southern favorite!
Can I get a collective yum?
Oh, and before you leave, pop over and check out my New Orleans Creole Style Bread Pudding. It's extra rich and decadent and just perfect for the holidays.
It has a meringue topping y'all! Go look and don't worry - I'll hold your place.
I do always like my bread pudding with a bit of Whiskey Sauce. It's just the perfect finish! My sauce uses no eggs, so no worries with the raw egg thing. Just click that link above for the recipe.
Now, let's go make this bread pudding - here's how.For more of my favorite bread pudding recipes, visit my page on Pinterest!
Old Fashioned Southern Bread Pudding
Yield: About 6 servings
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 1 HourTotal time: 1 H & 15 M
A southern bread pudding using leftover French bread, a can of fruit and finished with a drizzle of whiskey sauce.
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound loaf of French bread
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup half and half
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup golden raisins, optional
- 1 (15 ounce) can of fruit (fruit cocktail, peaches, pears, etc.), drained
- 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
- Whiskey Sauce (click here for recipe)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Whisk together the milk and half and half. Tear the bread into small pieces and put into a large bowl for soaking. Pour the milk mixture all over the top. Let sit for about 10 minutes. Stir.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar and vanilla until well blended.
- Rough chop the fruit, but don't puree it.
- Add the raisins and fruit to the egg mixture, pour over the bread and gently mix.
- Butter a 9 x 9 inch baking dish and coat the dish all along the sides and bottom. Spoon the bread pudding mixture into the dish, but do not pack.
- Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F for about 1 hour, or until bubbly on the sides, golden brown on top and set in the middle. Let cool for about 5 minutes before cutting into squares.
- Drizzle each serving with whiskey sauce if desired. Doubles great.
Notes:
Some people scoff at the use of fruit in my recipe, but I say don't knock it till you've tried it. If you are really against it, use this recipe, omit the fruit, increase the eggs to 3 and the milk and half and half to 1-1/2 cups each. That should do it.
Although leftover, stale French bread rules in the Deep South, you may substitute a wide variety of leftover breads, rolls, buns, or a combination of them. You’ll need about 8 cups of rough cut, or cubed bread.
Bread Pudding French Toast: Prepare bread pudding as above, except using a large loaf pan. Let cool, then refrigerate overnight. Cut into 1/2 inch slices and place slices in a rimmed baking sheet or pan. Beat together 4 eggs with 1 cup milk; pour over slices and sprinkle with a cinnamon sugar mixture. Turn slices and sprinkle other side. Let rest for 15 minutes. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet and pan fry slices in batches until browned on both sides, adding additional butter as needed per batch. Add a pat of butter and sprinkle with sifted powdered sugar before serving, if desired. Offer hot syrup at the table.
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