Bread pudding is a traditional dish with humble origins. It arose out of need, as a way of utilising leftover, stale bread during a time when food was limited
Bread puddings with custard and chocolate flecks have gone a long way since the desserts humble beginnings.
Bread pudding is a traditional dish with humble origins. It arose out of need, as a way of utilising leftover, stale bread during a time when food was limited. If the last heel of bread in the house was too hard to eat, you could always soften it with a little warm liquid and sugar.
The choices for bread pudding are infinite, and numerous countries have put their own distinct and individual spin on this treat over the years. The main structure of the pudding, however, consists of placing chopped or torn bread in a dish, pouring a custard sauce over the layers, and baking it in the oven.
While bread is always at the heart of this dish, the original recipe was not as opulent as the custardy confection we now make. Frugal cooks in 11th and 12th century England, where it originated, could only afford to soak the bread in boiling water before pressing it dry and adding whatever sugar and spices they had on hand. After the 13th century, when the recipe began to add eggs, milk, and a form of fat to soak the bread in, the delicacy became known as bread and butter pudding rather than poor mans pudding, eventually being shortened even further to just bread pudding. If youre wondering why its called a pudding, its because this dish has a cereal basis (the bread) and bakes up soft and spongy.
Bread pudding dates back to the early 11th and 12th centuries in Europe, and it has been popular in England since the 13th century when nearly every home had a deep bowl called a pudding bowl that was used to gather pieces of stale bread. Bread pudding back then was not quite as opulent as it is today. Stale bread was frequently soaked in boiling water and pressed dry before being blended with sugar and spices, rather than the custardy mix of cream and eggs. Pudding was brought to America by early settlers, but because wheat was scarce, they often thickened the mixture with cornmeal instead of bread.
Bread pudding is popular in many different nations. Capirotada, a bread pudding piled with cheese and soaked in a syrup prepared with piloncillo, a type of brown sugar, is popular in Mexico. Om Ali is an Egyptian pudding composed of puff pastry, milk or cream, raisins, and almonds. Eish es Serny is a Middle Eastern dessert prepared from dry bread (rusks) that has been cooked in sugar and honey syrup, scented with rosewater, and tinted with caramel. In India, theres shahi tukda, a bread-based meal with ghee, saffron, sugar, rosewater, and almonds.
Since the days of the pudding bowl, bread pudding has gone a long way. It is now frequently cooked using fresh artisanal bread, such as brioche, challah, pannetone, and even croissants, which deviates significantly from the dishs austere origins. New Orleans-style bread pudding is frequently topped with pecans, walnuts, or raisins and served with a sweet sauce laced with bourbon and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Portia Little, a cookbook author, finds bread pudding to be the greatest comfort dish. Littles extensive collection of bread pudding recipes demonstrates how versatile this dish is. Little loves bread pudding because of the variety of ways it may be prepared.Looking for more
‘ If you’re wondering why it is called a pudding, it’s because this dish includes a cereal base (the bread) and has a soft and spongy consistency after baking.
The choices for bread pudding are infinite, and numerous countries have put their own distinct and individual spin on this treat over the years. The main structure of the pudding, however, consists of placing chopped or torn bread in a dish, pouring a custard sauce over the layers, and baking it in the oven.
Bread pudding is popular in many different nations. Capirotada, a bread pudding piled with cheese and soaked in a syrup prepared with piloncillo, a type of brown sugar, is popular in Mexico. Om Ali is an Egyptian pudding composed of puff pastry, milk or cream, raisins, and almonds. Eish es Serny is a Middle Eastern dessert prepared from dry bread (rusks) that has been cooked in sugar and honey syrup, scented with rosewater, and tinted with caramel. In India, theres shahi tukda, a bread-based meal with ghee, saffron, sugar, rosewater, and almonds.
Bread pudding is a traditional dish with humble origins. It arose out of need, as a way of utilising leftover, stale bread during a time when food was limited
Bread pudding is a traditional dish with humble origins. It arose out of need, as a way of utilising leftover, stale bread during a time when food was limited. If the last heel of bread in the house was too hard to eat, you could always soften it with a little warm liquid and sugar.
Portia Little, a cookbook author, finds bread pudding to be the greatest comfort dish. Littles extensive collection of bread pudding recipes demonstrates how versatile this dish is. Little loves bread pudding because of the variety of ways it may be prepared.Looking for more
In this recipe, I swapped out some of the heavy cream with a favorite imperial porter, cold-steeped with coffee and vanilla in bourbon and rye whiskey oak casks. I’m pretty sure that bread pudding of the past did not include craft beer, more specifically a barrel-aged coffee porter, but cooking is all about having fun, putting your own spin on familiar recipes. I used two-day-old sourdough bread for its tanginess (crust included, for added texture) and brown sugar for its complex, molasses notes. A good amount of dark chocolate (70% cacao) gives the bread pudding a fruity richness, and I like to finish it with a dollop of hand-whipped cream.
Plenty of countries have their own take on bread pudding. In Mexico, there’s capirotada, a bread pudding layered with cheese and soaked in a syrup made with piloncillo, a type of brown sugar. Egypt has Om Ali, a pudding made from puff pastry, milk or cream, raisins, and almonds. There’s Eish es Serny, a Middle Eastern dessert made from dried bread (rusks), simmered in sugar and honey syrup, flavored with rosewater and colored with caramel. And in India, there is shahi tukda, a dish made from bread, ghee, saffron, sugar, rosewater, and almonds.
Bread pudding has come a long way since the days of the pudding basin. These days, it is often made from fresh artisanal bread, like brioche, challah, pannetone, and even croissants, which drastically deviates from the dish’s austere origins. New Orleans–style bread pudding is often topped with pecans, walnuts, or raisins and is served with a sweet sauce containing a strong dose of booze (typically bourbon) and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Food historians trace bread pudding back to Europe in the early 11th and 12th centuries, and it has been popular in England since the 13th century, when just about every kitchen had a deep bowl called a pudding basin that was used to collect scraps of stale bread. Bread pudding of that era was not nearly as luxurious as the kind we know today. Rather than the custardy mix of cream and eggs, stale bread was often soaked in hot water and squeezed dry before being mixed with sugar and spices. Early settlers brought pudding to America, but because wheat was not readily available, they often thickened the mixture with cornmeal instead of bread.
At a minimum, all you need to make bread pudding is some form of day-old bread (of course), eggs, sweetener of your choice, and a liquid for soaking the bread—typically milk or cream. From there you can get as creative as you like. I’ve swapped out some of the cream and replaced it with a favorite coffee porter aged in bourbon and rye whiskey oak casks, which lends roast-y and toasty notes to this version of bread pudding.
Civil War Bread Pudding
FAQ
What is the history of bread pudding?
Why are they called puddings?
Is bread pudding made of bread?
How are you supposed to eat bread pudding?
What is bread pudding?
Bread pudding is one of my favourite comfort foods, and is also called bread and butter pudding, or whitepot. Variations of bread pudding exist in culinary cultures around the world, from Argentina to India, from the United Kingdom to Colombia.
What is the recipe for bread pudding with mixed spice?
Ingredients 3 eggs 1 and 1/4 cup of sugar 2 tablespoons vanilla essence 1 coffee spoon of nutmeg 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder 100 g of walnuts 100 g unsalted butter 2 tea cups of milk 6 stale French bread 200 g of raisins zest of 1 lemon Method of preparation In a bowl, place the eggs and beat until frothy. Add sugar, vanilla, spices, nuts, butter, milk and mix well. Add the pieces of bread, the raisins, the lemon zest and mix until the pieces of bread start to break up. Transfer to a greased shape and sprinkled with sugar. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for twenty minutes.
Where did bread pudding come from?
The history of the bread pudding can be traced back to the early 11th and 12th centuries as a way to use up stale leftover bread. Instead of letting the bread go to waste, it was soaked in milk and eggs and butter or suet; a sweetener was added – although the puddings could also be savoury – and then it was made into a pudding.
Why is bread pudding called poor man’s pudding?
Bread pudding originated with 11th-century English cooks who repurposed leftover stale bread. In the following centuries, the dish became known as “poor man’s pudding” because of the scarcity of food at the time, with the pudding being made only with boiling water, sugar, and spices. [better source needed]