Apple Bread Pudding

When rainy days are many the need or want for comfort food rises however when there is an unused portion of a loaf of bread hanging about the kitchen one can not resist making  bread pudding. This easy recipe is perfect for breakfast/brunch or dessert. 

Apple Bread Pudding

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8-10 slices of whole wheat day old bread

2 tablespoons butter, melted

4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped

4 eggs, beaten

2 1/4 cups milk

1/2 cup coconut sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

some freshly grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon vanilla
cinnamon sugar, for sprinkling on top, optional

Preheat the oven to 350ºF (175ºC). Grease a 9x13 baking dish.

Cut the bread into cubes and place the cubes into a large bowl. Drizzle with the 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Turn into the prepared baking dish. Set aside.

Peel, core and chopped the apples, if you haven't already done so, and place the apple pieces on top of the buttered cubes bread. 

In a large bowl combine the eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. Beat until well blended. Pour over the bread and lightly push down with a fork until the bread is covered and has soaked up the egg mixture. If all the egg mixture seems to get absorbed however the top is a bit dry, not to worry, when the pudding is baking it puffs up absorbing the bread fully. Sprinkle the top with some cinnamon sugar, if you wish. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes or until the top springs back slightly when gently pressed.  

Notes: you can substitute dark brown sugar or white sugar for the coconut sugar. 

Hope everyone had a great weekend. The sun was shining bright all weekend long; casting it's warm rays upon us. - JD 

Leftovers #6 Apple Chutney Bread Pudding

There was a bit of my apple chutney hanging around in the fridge. And there was a half loaf of bread on the kitchen counter so I thought let's put these two together. After a very rainy day yesterday Apple Chutney Bread Pudding sounded very comforting. This was the perfect way to use up the leftover apple chutney. Again bread pudding is easy. All you need is 6 eggs, 1 and 3/4 cups of milk, sugar, cinnamon, butter, 10 slices of day old bread and of coarse apple chutney. 

I buttered an oven-proof baking dish and buttered the slices of bread. Then I cut the slices of bread in half. Arranged half of the bread slices buttered side up in the bottom of the dish. Then spread the apple chutney on top. Sprinkle with some sugar. Crack the six eggs into a bowl add the milk. Whisk together. Pour some of the mixture over top of the chutney covered bread slices. Wait about a minute for some of the mixture to be soaked up by the bread. Then place the remaining bread slices on top, buttered side up. Pour the remaining egg mixture on top. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Place in a preheated 350ºF oven for 40 - 45 minutes. Serve hot!  

   

Although this is not the most glamorous photo... I wanted to share this sight. I absolutely luv how the bread pudding swells and puffs up in the oven. When it does this you know it is not long before it will be reaching it's true destiny... your stomach!   

You can serve it with whatever you like. I chose a nice drizzle of golden syrup and a sprinkle of cardamom! - JW    

Savoury Bread Pudding

This week I made savoury bread pudding. I made a huge pan so there would be plenty of leftovers. Although I see bread pudding as being a dish one would snuggle up to during the coldest months of the year, I can also see this fluffy seasoned dish making an appearance or two during the warmer months as well. 

To make this Savoury Bread Pudding you will need the following:

1 red onion, diced

approximately 10 mushrooms, sliced

small pint of cherry tomatoes, cut in half

a bunch of spinach or kale or swiss chard, chopped

olive oil

balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar

thyme

tarragon

rosemary

summer savoury

smoky paprika

1 loaf of day old bread

8 eggs

2 cups of milk

salt and pepper  

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. 

Prepare all the vegetables. In a pan add some olive oil. Turn the element on to medium high heat. Once the oil has warmed up, add the onion. Stir. When the onion has soften a bit, add the mushrooms. Stir. Add the tomatoes. Stir again and let those vegetables simmer for a bit. When the mushrooms and tomatoes have soften a bit add the greens of your choice. Now the pan may look like it's going to overflow. Do not worry everything will simmer down. You made need to add some more olive oil and at this time you can add the balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar. Stir to make sure everything is not sticking and gets coated with the oil and vinegar. Now it's time to add the herbs and seasoning. I didn't give exact measurements on the herbs and seasonings because you can adjust those to your liking. Once everything has simmered and looks like this...

  

I must say at this point the aroma was very inviting. Everything in the pan had come together nicely. Remove from heat and now it's time to prepare the bread. The day old loaf you use doesn't have to be pre sliced. Since mine was, I cut each slice in half making two triangle pieces. Once all the slices have been cut, butter the bottom of the baking dish. 

Arrange half the bread slices on the bottom of the pan. Take some of those lovely simmered down veggies and spread over the slices of bread. Then placing the remaining slices of bread on top of that and using the remaining veggie mixture on top. Now there is no rhyme or reason to placing the bread. Just place them as you see fit. Trust me when  all is said and done nobody is going to notice how the slices of bread were or weren't arranged. That is the pure charm of this dish. 

Break the eggs in a large bowl and add the milk, salt and pepper. Mix together. Then pour over top of the bread layered with the veggie mixture. Making sure everything gets coated. Pop in a preheated, 375ºF oven for about 40 minutes or until everything is puffy, golden and the eggs have set. Serve immediately with grated cheese on top. 

You can always change the order of the prep work by slicing the bread first, buttering the pan then chopping the veggies and continuing from there. Bread pudding whether sweet or savoury is such a labour of delightful comfort. - JW