This Bread Pudding with Praline Sauce is an annual staple at my Thanksgiving table. A twist on the traditional Pecan Pie, it's always popular with my friends and family! Also much easier to make than a pie, it helps cut down on all of the holiday cooking stress.
The History
Originally known as "Poor Man's Pudding" in 11th or 12th Century England per dailygazette.com Bread Pudding in today's world has evolved into a decadent dessert served at the finest restaurants across the world.
Known as Om Ali in Egypt, Eish es Serny in the Middle East and Shahi Tukra in Pakistan and India, there are 3 basic ingredients that all these versions have in common; bread, some form of custard and a sweetener. After that, the sky's the limit and you can create a new variation of the basic pudding with whatever you may have lying around the house.
From raisins to chocolate chips to fruit and nuts, most things have been tried over the past 10 or so centuries. One of the most famous cookbooks called "Bread Pudding Bliss" by Paula Little has about 1,000 recipes of bread pudding.
Bread Pudding, whether it's savory or Sweet is a great way to use leftovers to create a wonderful meal or dessert. Most of us have milk, eggs, butter and sugar lying around at home and that's all that's really needed to create an impromptu dessert.
The Recipe
The Bread
The one golden rule to follow is to use stale bread as fresh bread will get soggy and you'll have a mushy pudding on your hands. You can buy bread a day or so ahead of making your bread pudding to make sure it's a little dry and stale or you can pop leftover stale bread in your freezer to pull out when you're craving a bread pudding. You can also bake your bread in the oven for 10-15 minutes on medium heat to artificially create stale bread if neither of the other two options are possible.
Since I like my pudding dense with a crispy top layer I opted for a Ciabatta bread loaf and used it with the crust on. If you like your pudding softer you can go with a Challah or a lighter French Bread and remove the crust.
Try and cut the bread into uniform pieces as the resulting pudding will absorb have a better consistency this way.
It's best to have the bread at room temperature and the milk slightly warm when you prepare the custard as the bread will absorb it more efficiently this way.
The Ratio Of Solid To Liquid
Whether you choose to use French Bread, Challah or Plain and simple leftover store bought bread and however you choose to cook your pudding; in the oven, crockpot, stove pot or the newly popular instant pot, the key element besides stale bread are the correct balance of solids to liquids to achieve the desired consistency of the pudding.
I personally like a dense pudding with a crispy top layer so usually choose a dense bread and a thick custard. If you prefer a mushier texture, you may want to go for a softer bread with a more liquidy custard.
If the bread is too dry you may need more liquid so feel free to adjust the quantity given above. The more you make bread puddings the better you will be at gauging the bread to liquid ratio. If your pudding ends up a bit dry don't worry, just add more sauce and it should improve the texture.If it's too soggy, an additional 10 min ute of baking may help dry it out a bit.
When mixing in the liquid, try folding versus mixing so the bread doesn't break down too much.
The Sauce & Toppings
Similarly, in addition to the various add ins you can personalize your bread pudding with the topping you choose to serve it with. The repertoire ranges from cream based sauces to boozy sauces, from fruit sauces to chocolates and caramels and even a dollop of plain vanilla ice cream.
Living in the Southern State of Mississippi and being an hour away from New Orleans, I have tried some amazing bread puddings as they are a very popular dessert in this region. This Praline Sauce is a typical Southern Sauce that I've grown to love !
Leftover Praline Sauce is great on Ice Cream, Waffles and Plain Cake. It freezes very well and can be thawed and reheated in the microwave or a stovetop as and when needed.
The Fat & Sugar
The more fat you have the better the taste of the pudding. Use a butter such as Irish Gold and Heavy Whipping Cream for best results. Dark Brown Sugar is the preferred choice as opposed to light brown as it has a more intense taste and pairs perfectly with the pecans.
Baking The Bread Pudding
After 30 minutes of baking you should check on your pudding at 5-10 minute intervals to prevent it from overcooking. Once the edges are slightly brown and have moved away from the sides of the dish, insert a knife into the center to check that the custard is fully cooked and then remove from the oven. If you wish to use a thermometer 165-170 degrees is the correct temperature.
Storing and Reheating Your Bread Pudding
In The Fridge
store your pudding in the fridge for 2-5 days. Reheating instructions are as follows; Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, cover your dish with foil and heat for 15 minutes. Or cover with plastic wrap and heat in the microwave for 5-10 minutes. Once again you can use a thermometer to see if the temperature is 165 degrees and your pudding is heated through.
In The Freezer
The pudding can be stored in the freezer for upto 2-3 months. Thaw your pudding overnight in the fridge and then follow the above instructions to reheat.
Hope you decide to try my Bread Pudding with Praline Sauce! Please remember to tag on social media, comment and rate when you do!
Bread Pudding with Praline Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 oz bread About 6 cups
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup granulated white sugar
- ¾ cups brown sugar
- ¼ cup butter
- ½ tsp vanilla
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ½ cup toasted pecans
- ¼ cup toasted coconut
- ¼ cup white chocolate chips
Praline Sauce
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1½ cups brown sugar
- ½ cup dark corn syrup
- ¼ tsp almond extract
- ¾ tsp salt (SEE NOTES)
- 1 cup pecans
Instructions
- Take your stale bread and cut it into 1 inch cubes, the crust included. The more uniform the pieces, the better the resulting pudding.
- Prepare your custard mixture by mixing together all of the ingredients except the pecans, coconut and chocolate chips.
- Pour the custard onto the bread and fold the bread in, making sure all the pieces are coated with the custard. Soak the bread in the custard for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease your baking dish.
- Pour the bread and custard mixture into the baking dish, layering with the pecans, coconut and chocolate chips till evenly distributed.
- Bake from 50-60 minutes till the pudding leaves the sides of the dish and an inserted knife comes out clean
- Cool for 15-20 minutes before serving with the Praline Sauce.
Praline Sauce
- Add the butter to a saucepan and melt
- Add the Heavy Whipping Cream and heat
- Add all of the remaining ingredients except the Pecans
- Heat till bubbles start forming and then add the Pecans
- Cook till the bubbles disappear and the mixture darkens
- Serve with the Bread Pudding
I made this on MLK day, in honour, as per your notes.
And had it for breakfast also. The praline sauce was divinely delicious, so I made extra, of course. And you are right, Kerrygold can't be beat!
Thanks so much!!