Best Marthas Bread Pudding Recipes

MARTHA'S BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 3-quart baking dish and set aside. Combine currants and brandy in a small saucepan and heat over medium just until warm. Remove from heat, then cover and let stand 15 minutes. Drain, reserving 2 tablespoons brandy.
• In a large bowl whisk together eggs, reserved brandy, salt, and sugar to combine. Add milk, cream, citrus zests, and orange juice to bowl and whisk until mixture is smooth and well-combined; stir in currants.
• Add half of brioche pieces to prepared baking dish; covering the bottom and shingling pieces as needed to fit. Ladle about half of egg mixture over top. Repeat layering with remaining half of bread pieces and egg mixture.
• Transfer dish to oven and bake 30 minutes. Remove dish and cover with parchment paper; return to oven and continue to bake until top is golden brown and custard is set, about 20 minutes more. Transfer to wire rack and let cool 10 to 20 minutes before serving.

CLASSIC BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish; set aside. Put bread in a large bowl; set aside. Heat milk and cream in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until just about to simmer; remove from heat.
• Whisk eggs, yolk, sugar, salt, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Whisking constantly, pour cream mixture in a slow, steady stream into egg mixture. Pour over bread; fold to combine. Let stand 30 minutes, tossing and pressing occasionally to submerge bread.
• Meanwhile, soak raisins in 1 cup boiling water for 30 minutes.
• Drain; stir raisins into bread mixture. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With a slotted spoon, transfer bread to buttered dish; pour liquid in bowl over top. Using spoon, turn top layer of bread crust side up.
• Set dish in a roasting pan; transfer to oven. Pour boiling water into pan to reach about halfway up sides of dish. Bake until golden brown, about 50 minutes. Let dish cool on a rack 10 to 20 minutes.

LEEK AND GRUYERE BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch (10-cup) round baking dish. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks and garlic; cook, stirring often, until soft, about 10 minutes. Add wine; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced by half. Transfer half of the leek mixture to a bowl, and reserve.
• Whisk cream, milk, nutmeg, cayenne, salt, and pepper into leek mixture in pan; bring to a simmer. Add 1/2 cup hot cream-leek mixture to eggs and yolks in a medium bowl, whisking. Whisk in another cup cream-leek mixture; return egg-leek mixture to pan. Cook, whisking, until thickened, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Arrange 8 or 9 pieces of bread in prepared dish. Pour 2 cups egg-leek mixture over bread. Sprinkle half the reserved leeks and half the cheeses over bread. Let stand 10 minutes. Arrange remaining bread in a slightly overlapping circle on top, and then add remaining egg-leek mixture. Sprinkle with remaining leeks and cheeses. Let stand 10 minutes.
• Cover dish loosely with foil, and place in a small roasting pan. Add enough hot water to reach halfway up sides of dish. Bake until golden brown and set, about 55 minutes. Remove foil, and bake until deep golden brown, about 20 minutes more. Let cool in dish on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

KRIS KRINGLE BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Brush two 1 1/2-quart ovenproof bowls with butter, and sprinkle with vanilla sugar; tap out excess. Bring Armagnac, dried fruit, and prunes to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until fruit has softened and absorbed the liquid, about 10 minutes. Coarsely chop fruit.
• Bring cream, half and half, vanilla sugar, cinnamon, vanilla beans and seeds, and zest to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
• Lightly beat egg yolks in a medium bowl. Whisking constantly, gradually ladle half the hot-cream mixture into the yolks. Pour yolk mixture into saucepan with remaining cream mixture. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly and scraping sides of pan, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Pass custard through a fine sieve into a large bowl; discard solids.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In another large bowl, combine brioche cubes and chopped fruit, reserving 1/2 cup fruit. Pour in custard; toss to combine. Divide bread mixture between prepared bowls. Top each with half the reserved fruit. Sprinkle with vanilla sugar. Place a parchment round in water to dampen and transfer to top of pudding bowl to cover. Use a rubber band to secure, and tie with kitchen twine. Repeat process with second bowl. Let stand until bread has soaked up liquid, about 20 minutes.
• Set bowls in deep roasting pan. Transfer pan to oven; add enough boiling water to come 3 inches up sides of bowls. Bake 1 hour. Uncover; bake until set, about 30 minutes more. Serve warm or at room temperature, with sour lemon sauce. Puddings can be refrigerated up to 3 days; let cool completely before covering with plastic wrap. If desired, reheat in a 350-degree oven, just until warm.

BREAD PUDDING 101

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the center. Place bread cubes in a shallow 2 1/2-quart baking dish; set aside. Place raisins in a small bowl. Add zests and juices; let stand 30 minutes.
• Place eggs in a large bowl. In another large bowl, combine heavy cream, 1 cup sugar, vanilla, and nutmeg. Pour the cream mixture into eggs, whisking constantly until fully combined. Add the raisin mixture, and stir to combine. Pour over bread, making sure all the bread is thoroughly saturated. Sprinkle with remaining sugar.
• Brush a sheet of parchment paper with butter. Place, buttered-side down, over the bread. Place baking dish in a larger roasting pan. Place in oven, and add enough water to the larger pan to come halfway up sides of baking dish. Bake 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 minutes more. Remove from oven and let stand 20 minutes before serving. Top with a dollop of whipped cream, if desired.

SIMPLE BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a small saucepan over low heat, warm milk, butter, vanilla, sugar and salt. Continue cooking just until butter melts; cool. Meanwhile, butter a 4-to-6-cup baking dish and fill it with cubed bread.
• Add eggs to cooled milk mixture and whisk; pour mixture over bread. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, or until custard is set but still a little wobbly and edges of bread have browned. Serve warm or at room temperature.

CROISSANT PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Lightly butter a small oval (or other shallow 1 1/2- to 2-quart) baking dish; set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, milk, and salt until combined. Add croissants; toss to coat. Let sit, turning occasionally, until they have absorbed some of the liquid, about 10 minutes. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish; smooth top with a spatula. Scatter with almonds.
• Bake until pudding has puffed up and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Cool at least 10 minutes before serving with whipped cream, if desired.