Bread Pudding

Bread pudding has the most plebeian of origins, but is considered to be a favourite comfort food for many people.  It is said that the humble bread pudding originated in the early 11^th and 12^th centuries, as people looked for frugal means of using stale, leftover bread instead of letting it go to waste.  It was known as ‘the poor man’s pudding’ as it was popular with the lower classes.

Today you can often find this dish on the menus of some of the trendiest restaurants.  The dish is very versatile as you can add different ingredients to suit your taste.

Mandi:  Another first time recipe for me. My gas stove is still in storage but I must say the new gas stove on the farm has done well considering it has no temperatures written on the dial to go by so I had to guess the heat. You go by the flame height it seems.... We had visited friends last weekend and took the tasty chicken dish from last week's blog with to share.   Our host made a bread pudding that was really delicious and here I was this week following a bread pudding recipe that I had never made and hoped that it would turn out as good as the one we had last weekend.  According to the verdict it was better!  I got a message from my dad saying it was my mom's favourite "go to" recipe if she had to make a pudding quickly for visitors and I can second her on that. I will definitely use this as a "spoil" when the kids come to visit.

Recipe:  Bread Pudding
Pudding:
200g bread slices with the crust cut off (10 normal bread slices usually does the trick)
750ml milk
120g sugar
2 eggs beaten
5ml vanilla essence

Syrup:
125g sugar
2 eggs beaten
5 ml vanilla
Mix ingredients

Method:
With butter, grease a dish that can contain a volume of 2 litres.  Heat your oven to 180 °c.
Heat the milk until it boils.  Place the bread into the milk and let it soak through. Add the sugar and mix well into the bread mixture, stirring the ingredients together.  Allow it to cool down a bit because when you add the egg it may end up scrambled ;).  Add the egg and the vanilla. Mix well and pour the contents into your dish.  Bake uncovered for 30-45 min depending on your oven's capacity. I left mine for 45 mins. Check to see that the pudding is set.
While it is still hot, pour the syrup  over and bake for a further 15 mins.  Serve immediately from the oven.

I served mine with a custard but the syrup is enough to serve on its own as a topping.  I could feed 8 adults comfortably with leftovers on this recipe.  Its soft texture and taste reminded me of melkkos...another traditional Boere recipe for chilly winter evenings!
Tastes more-ish!

Deidre: I had a fruit basket full of almost overripe bananas at home, and when faced with the idea of putting a spin on the bread pudding, my first thought was of baking a banana bread and using that for the pudding.  It was delicious!!  It takes longer than baking your normal bread pudding with store bought bread, but it is definitely worth the effort.

Find a good banana bread recipe, maybe one that you regularly bake, or you can use mine below:

Banana Bread

100 g butter at room temperature

175 g castor sugar

2 large eggs

5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla essence

225 g self raising flour

2,5 mg (1/2 tsp) cinnamon

30 ml (2 tbsp) buttermilk ( I used plain yoghurt as I forgot to buy the buttermilk)

3 ripe bananas, mashed

100 g pecan nuts

Pre-heat your oven to 180 °C.  Grease a bread pan.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy

Add the eggs and vanilla essence and mix well

Sift all the dry ingredients and add to the butter mixture

Add the buttermilk and mix well

Add the mashed bananas and stir into the mixture

Pour the mixture into the prepared bread pan.

Bake the bread for 55 minutes on the middle rack of your oven.  ( I found that 55 minutes was too long – test after 40 minutes)

Bread pudding

200g banana bread slices
750 ml milk
120 g sugar
2 eggs beaten
5ml vanilla essence

Syrup:

125 g sugar
2 eggs beaten
5 ml vanilla
Mix ingredients

Method:

Grease an ovenproof dish.  Pre-heat your oven to 180 °c.
Heat the milk until just before boiling point. 

Soak the bread in the milk and let it soak through.

Add the sugar and mix well into the bread mixture, stirring the ingredients together. 

Allow it to cool down.

Add the egg and the vanilla.

Mix well and pour the mixture into your prepared dish. 

Bake uncovered for 30-45 min

Check to see that the pudding is set.
While the pudding is still hot, pour the syrup over and bake for a further 15 mins. 

Serve immediately from the oven.

Tips and hints:

·        The banana’s don’t need to be over ripe, just as long as the peels aren’t green;

·        It is characteristic of the top of banana bread to crack – don’t panic;

·        Ensure that you allow the bread and milk of the bread pudding to cool down – otherwise the egg will scramble when you add it to the hot mixture.

·        We found that the pudding was delicious served hot or cold – it’s up to you.