Traditional Bread Pudding.

Bread Pudding!  That is something that brings back memories of childhood.  Being a heavy, stodgy and sweet pudding, made, usually, from stale bread.  It is simply lovely.  I decided to make it, from as traditional a recipe as I could find. 

I had to search around, since many recipes, particularly those from USA, which called themselves Bread Pudding are what we, in the UK, would really know as Bread and Butter pudding, which is something entirely different. One example of this was the Betty Crocker recipe, it uses a custard which is poured over the bread.  So although they call it Bread Pudding in the UK it would not be so. 

Anyway, after that little rant, I found a very nice recipe on BBC Good Food.  Although it varied from a few others that I checked I decided upon this as my first attempt.  I thought it sounded good and the reviews indicated that it is quite authentic, according to peoples memories of days gone by.  

The recipe is simple to follow, and doesn’t have too many ingredients.  Once in the oven the room is filled with that lovely aroma of mixed spices and dried fruit.  I certainly enjoyed tasting the result, and am happy that it is very similar to what I remember from years ago.  Now I just have to see what my ‘tasters’ think of it.  Hopefully they will also enjoy it as much as I have.

Update: The ‘tasters’ all enjoyed it immensely, so I guess I shall be making it again soon.

Ingredients:

• 500g white or wholemeal bread
• 500g/1lb 2oz mixed dried fruit
• 85g mixed peel
• 1 ½ tbsp mixed spice
• 600ml milk
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 140g light muscovado sugar
• zest 1 lemon (optional)
• 100g butter, melted
• 2 tbsp demerara sugar

1. Tear the bread into a large mixing bowl and add the fruit, peel and spice. Pour in the milk, then stir or scrunch through your fingers to mix everything well and completely break up the bread. Add eggs, muscovado sugar and lemon zest if using. Stir well, then set aside for 15 mins to soak.
2. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Butter and line the base of a 20cm non-stick square cake tin (not one with a loose base) or line an 20cm square tin with parchment paper. Stir the melted butter into the pudding mixture, tip into the tin, then scatter with demerara sugar. Bake for 1½ hrs until firm and golden, covering with foil if it starts to brown too much. Turn out of the tin and strip off the paper. Cut into squares and serve warm.