Brioche Bread Pudding Recipe - Happy Foods Tube (2024)

FAQs

Why is my bread pudding mushy? ›

The harder bread will absorb that custard and won't break down. Any non-sliced white bread, like sourdough, French, or Challah will do. Using thin, sliced bread doesn't have enough heft and will likely lead to a mushy pudding.

Not allowing it to rest after baking

It is usual for bread pudding to somewhat collapse when it goes from the oven to the room temperature air, but you surely don't want to further contribute to it becoming flat. Therefore, don't dish it out too quickly.

Made with basic pantry ingredients and some day-old bread (try a rich egg bread or a moist white loaf), this easy recipe can be served for breakfast or dessert with milk poured over top or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Butter in bread dough tenderizes the dough, making the soft, pull-apart texture of bakes like brioche, dinner rolls, and Pullman loaves. Standard bread dough (also called a “lean dough”)—just flour, water, salt, and natural or added yeast—relies on a strong, stiff gluten network to yield a chewy loaf.

If your pudding is too thin, you may thicken it by adding cornstarch. To properly thicken instant pudding with almond milk, but you don't want to use cornstarch, you need to add a quarter cup more of the powdered pudding mix than in the original recipe.

One major problem that you may have come across is bread pudding that is just too wet. A good bread pudding needs to be moist -- it is made from custard, after all -- but it should not be anywhere close to runny.

Bake about 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Another way to judge whether the pudding is fully baked, is to gently press down on the center of the pudding. If any custard comes up to the top, the pudding needs to be baked a little longer.

You can assemble the bread pudding in the casserole dish up to a day before baking it. Cover it and refrigerate until ready to bake. Let it warm on the counter while your oven preheats and then bake as usual. Note that the longer you soak the bread pudding the softer and more custard-like the interior will be.

Can bread pudding sit out overnight? Do not let your bread pudding sit out at room temperature for more than 2 hours after it has been baked. You should make sure you eat it within 4 days.

Making Bread Pudding

It can be enjoyed straight out of the oven or cooled from the refrigerator (although I promise you, warmed-up is way better). I have also heard of a lot of people eating it as a breakfast dish, and I bet it is incredible with maple syrup and berries.

Why does my bread pudding taste eggy? ›

You are probably cooking your egg dishes too hot for too long. Eggs contain a lot of water and also chains of proteins; if you could see them, the proteins would be coiled like little springs.

Advice: Ditch the fork – it's completely superfluous – and dig in with the spoon!

Overnight Proof: By letting the dough rise slowly in a cold environment, it not only develops more depth of flavor, but also gives you more flexibility with the timing of baking the loaf. Cold brioche dough is also much easier to work with!

Do not use cold butter, though, because butter must be at room temperature to mix in properly. Don't mix these doughs by hand—your hands are warm enough to melt the butter. Instead, use an electric mixer or, if you don't have one, try our recipe for No-Knead Brioche (see page 242).

In France, brioche bread is mostly enjoyed for breakfast or as an afternoon snack.

Too much water can also produce a damp loaf. Try less water with your flour. Uneven heat in your oven can be the culprit – if you loaf is nicely golden on the outside but gummy or moist in the inside, it's baking too quickly on the outside. Trying reducing the temperature you're baking at and bake for a bit longer.

Properly Cooling Bread

Although it may be tempting to cut into that freshly baked bread while it's still warm, it is important that the loaf cool completely. If you do not allow the bread to cool for at least two hours before slicing, it can appear soggy inside, even though it is cooked all the way through.

But regardless of how a pudding is cooked, it is always handled with care. For in the life of a pudding there is just one split second between velvety thickness and a pot full of curds. Curdling occurs when the eggs in a pudding are overcooked.

Cooking and storing

After you have steamed and cooled your pudding, replace the foil with a freshly buttered piece to keep it moist and store in a cool, dark place, or the fridge, until you are ready to reheat it on Christmas day.