To the bakers

Looking for information on Bread pudding and a recipe. I have found several and before I start I wanted some feed back on richness. What are the differences of using cream in the recipe as opposed to ½ & ½ or milk? I will be using Brioche for the bread and would like a very rich version of Bread pudding. I will be serving it with a nice Jack Daniels whiskey sauce and Vanilla Custard Ice cream done the old fashion way .

TIA
Ron Edwards
Catering Chef
Classic Kitchen Associates Caterers
Sonoma Wine Country Weddings and Events
http:// www.classickitchen.com

By W.DeBord on Wednesday, June 07, 2000 - 09:44 am: Edit

I don't really think there is much difference in taste using cream over milk. I think using good bread (I like old cinnamon rolls as my bread) and NOT over cooking are more important factors.

The differences in bread pudding recipes are minimal. Which bread to use, adding white chocolate, raisins, nuts or spices change your taste or maybe one recipe uses more eggs or more milk...those are your choices. You need to try a few to see what flavor you want. The main problem/thing to watch for is OVER BAKING (it will set more as it cools).

Look at Richard Sax's newest cookbook, he has many pudding recipes.

By Hans (Hans) on Wednesday, June 07, 2000 - 01:52 pm: Edit

Hi Ron.

Of course you can use cream, milk and 1/2 & 1/2 in any combination you desire.

A bread pudding is a variation on a custard.
As such, it's eating qualities will depend on the qualities of your ingredients.

Pure cream would IMHO make it too rich, especially with brioche, danish, muffins, that have enough fat of their own.

If you use plain bread, a cream custard might be OK.

Here is the recipe I am using.
For Chefs Only
Sincerely.


* Exported from MasterCook *

Bread Pudding

Recipe By : HWK, CMC
Serving Size : 180 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Baked Puddings American
Brunch Buffet

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
20 Quarts Half and half -- Scald
120 egg yolk -- or 2 Quarts
60 whole eggs -- or 3 Quarts
10 pounds sugar
4 ounces Vanilla Extract -- or 4 Beans
6 each 200 pans Small diced sweet bread -- Danish, Brioche, etc
36 ounces Granulated sugar
18 ounces slivered almonds
1 1/2 pounds butter

Scald half and half. Mix egg yolks, eggs and sugar. Temper egg mix
with scalded half and half. Mix eggs and Half and Half well. Pour
evenly over all six pans of small diced sweet breads. Let Soak in. Top
with slivered almonds, granulated sugar and butter flakes. Bake in a
water bath (double 200 pan) at 325 for 45 minutes to one hour or till
middle of pudding is set.
This needs impeccable sanitation and refrigeration.


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Serving Ideas : Bread pudding for buffet presentations.

NOTES : Recipe makes 6 # 200 pans of bread pudding

By Ramodeo (Ramodeo) on Wednesday, June 07, 2000 - 08:01 pm: Edit

I agree that using all heavy cream with brioche will be too rich, especially with the rich accompaniments you describe. You might get away with it if you served it with a fresh fruit sauce. I have made a brioche bread pudding and my recollection is that I used 50% half and half and 50% milk. Good luck!

By Matt McMillen on Friday, June 16, 2000 - 11:02 am: Edit

Bread pudding is wonderful with day old brioche, but you can use any kind of bread to your
taste. They should be old as drier bread will absorb more liquid. Take an au gratin dish or a similar
shallow pan and butter it. Then butter the sliced bread after removing the crusts and lay it in the
pan with the slices overlapping. Typically the bread is cut so that it has points. The points are not
covered by the liquid and are allowed to brown and crisp during baking. Here are the ingredients:

2 cups 1/2 and 1/2
4 eggs
3 oz sugar
ts vanilla

see next post

By Matt McMillen on Friday, June 16, 2000 - 11:04 am: Edit

continued from previous post

Bring half and half to a boil. Mix eggs with sugar in a bowl. Slowly add cream to eggs, stirring
constantly, and then return to heat. Again stirring constantly, cook til it coats the back of a spoon.
Draw your finger across spoon. If the custard does not move to fill the space created, it's ready.
Pass through a sieve to remove any cooked egg bits and pour over bread. Add a little at a time,
allowing the bread to absorb liquid before adding more. Cook at 300 degrees in a hot water bath
until set. It's done when a knife comes out clean.

If you like you can vary the flavorings any way you want. Cardamom is a nice addition to the
cream. Or you can steep toasted almonds in the cream for about ten - twenty minutes, which will
add a nice nutty flavor. Course you could use hazelnuts. Many, many flavoring options.