Old Time Bread Pudding

Tuesday 9 December 2014


Old Time Bread Pudding






Sorry I haven't been around for a couple of days.  I have had the mother of all colds and it was so bad that I ended up in bed.  It is on the wane now and I am feeling a lot more like my old self, although I still have a very tight chest and a niggling cough which is driving me to distraction.   I have sore muscles in my sides from all of the coughing.  Blah.



Old Tim Bread Pudding. One might be tempted to overlook this recipe as it doesn't look like anything special, but this is one of those great old fashioned recipes that is a gem in disguise. 


 







It's one of my husband's favourites!  He has always said his mother made the best bread puddings, but after I made him this one the other day, he's changed his mind and declared mine better than hers.  I am well pleased.




Originally designed to make the use of stale or leftover bread, this pudding isn't to be confused with it's lighter airier cousin Bread and Butter Pudding.   This is the ugly stepsister of said pudding, It is stodgy, somewhat heavy, and stogged full of dried fruits and spices.


 


Old Time Bread Pudding






You can see from the photograph that is is quite solid and cuts nicely into squares, which makes it perfect for eating out of hand if you wish. 



In fact I often see it being sold by the square in local  bake shop windows. When we were in Llangollen, Wales,  one time it was beautifully showcased in one of their bakery windows. Of course we had to buy a square to bring home and enjoy with his evening tea.




Old Time Bread Pudding






My husband had described this to me many times through the years, but you know how men are.  Their descriptions of thing only ever very rarely actually give you a true picture.



My friend Jo who worked at the Manor with me as the housekeeper used to make this all the time, but  again, I never had actually seen it first hand, until I made it for myself. It can be a bit hard to describe to people who are not familiar with it.




Old Time Bread Pudding







It is lovely warm and cut into squares. My husband enjoys it warm with custard or cream poured on top. It is equally as lovely served cold along with a nice hot cuppa.




It is very reminiscent of a fruit cake in both texture, weight, and flavour actually. The difference being it's not a cake. Its a pudding and its a delicious pudding at that. 

 


Old Time Bread Pudding






I am not sure how old the recipe is, but I suspect that it's been around a very long time.  I suspect it came about from some cook's desire not to let anything go to waste, especially stale crusts of bread.



I do hope you'll give it a go and that when you do you enjoy it as much as we do.  It's relatively low in fat as well I would say. Yes, there is some butter in it, but not a lot in actuality. It is economical, delicious, and real comforting family fare.









We love this warm, but we really love this cold and cut into squares or slabs. It always goes down a real treat and is a great way to use up leftover stale bread. 




When you first read the recipe you think to yourself, how could that ever be tasty.  But you are wrong. It is incredibly, edibly, wonderfully delicious.


Make Your Own Mixed Spice:
You can easily make your own mixed spice: Combine 1 TBS ground cinnamon, 1 tsp each of ground coriander and nutmeg, 1/2 tsp of ground ginger, 1/4 tsp each of ground cloves and all spice. Mix well and store in an airtight container out of the light for up to 6 months.



Old Time Bread Pudding

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Old Time Bread Pudding
Yield: Makes one 12 by 9 inch pan
Author: Marie Rayner
prep time: 15 Mcook time: 1 H & 20 Mtotal time: 1 H & 35 M
This is very different than bread and butter pudding.  Don't confuse the two.  This is a very traditional and stodgily delicious blend of dried fruit, spices, bread, eggs and milk. Perfect for a winters day tucked up in side in the warmth and best served with custard or cream.  It's also very good served cold and simply cut into squares.

Ingredients:

  • 400g of white bread, torn into pieces (about 7 cups)
  • 600ml of milk (2 1/2 cups)
  • 450g of dried fruit (3 cups)
  • (Use a mixture of raisins, sultanas and currants
  • 100g sugar (1/2 cup)
  • 50g of self raising flour (1/4 cup plus 2 TBS)
  • 1 1/2 TBS mixed spice (see my right hand side bar for a recipe to make your own)
  • 2 large free range eggs, beaten
  • 100g of butter, melted (7 TBS)
  • demerara sugar to sprinkle on top (turbinado)

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 150*C/300*F. Butter a rectangular pan about 12 by 9 inches well. Set aside.
  2. Put the bread into a large bowl. Pour the milk over top and allow it to stand for 10 minutes. At the end of that time, beat it all together with a wooden spoon. Stir in the dried fruit and sugar. Mix well together. Stir in the flour and mixed spice. Add the beaten eggs and the melted butter. Pour into the prepared pan. Sprinkle demerara sugar on top evenly. Bake for one and a half hours.
  3. Raise the oven temperature to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4 and bake for a further 10 minutes or so until the pudding is golden. Excellent served warm with custard or cream, or eaten cold.
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This is one of the most popular recipes on the blog which goes to prove that people really love to try good old fashioned traditional foods and recipes.  When something ain't broke why mess with it. This is perfect just as it is.  

Make Your Own Mixed Spice:
You can easily make your own mixed spice: Combine 1 TBS ground cinnamon, 1 tsp each of ground coriander and nutmeg, 1/2 tsp of ground ginger, 1/4 tsp each of ground cloves and all spice. Mix well and store in an airtight container out of the light for up to 6 months.

This content (written and photography) is the sole property of  The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: theenglishkitchen@mail.com

 

79 comments

  1. Omy Marie! Im hungry!!
    I lovs bread pudding!
    This look delicious!
    ♡♥♡♥

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  2. Thanks Gloria. It's pretty simple, but proof positive that delicious doesn't have to be complicated! xx

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  3. I wonder if I could use old fruit bread for this? We love bread and butter pudding.

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  4. Hope you are feeling better. This is the type of bread pudding my grandmother would make for me whenever I was sick in bread. I still make it for myself, love it cold with a bit of milk and a dash of sugar. Take care of yourself.

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  5. I can't see why not Suzan. It would just be fruitier! I think it's a very forgiving recipe! xx

    I am feeling much better thanks Mam! Just a cough now. Cold with a bit of milk and sugar works for me! xxoo

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  6. Up my husbands alley for certain:)

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  7. My understanding of dialect appears to have failed me, what's a moil?

    I hope you are feeling better.

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  8. I hope you make it for him Monique! xx

    Pat, lol, it's a typo! It should say Milk. I will fix it now. lol I am laughing here to myself. Why didn't I see that. I can only say it must have been my cold. I am feeling quite a lot better thanks. It's hanging on a bit, and I am hoping it doesn't return with a vengeance, but much better thanks! xx

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  9. My mother used to make this all the time, finally I have found the recipe, thankyou

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  10. Replies
    1. It’s a warm baking spice mix. If you are on a pc you will find a recipe to make your own in the right side bar. If you are a mobile device you will have to scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page.

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  11. Hi, Found this page while googling for traditional bread puds...your photos look VERY close to what my late Mum's bread pudding used to look like (she grew up in Worcester before WW2) so I'll give your recipe a try. It used to be pretty solid...and heavy! Brilliant with a nice cup of tea. I seem to think though that she used old stale bread that she would leave in an open container in the cupboard for weeks on end, so it was good and hard...I may be wrong though...perhaps she used those for bread and butter pudding?

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    1. Hi there! It is pretty solid for sure. My husband loves it as his mum used to make it for them all the time using stale bread. I suspect you could use really hard bread if you wanted to, but it would have to sit for longer to absorb all the liquid! You might even need more liquid. I'm not sure. It is very tasty however! xo

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  12. I've tried to reproduce my mums version from memory, but as she passed more than 40 years ago, my memory of it, is not the best. Looked through a number of recipes this morning, and yours appears the closest to what I remember, so I've got one on the go. I always liked mums best, the day after it was cooked, and cold. I'll let you know how it goes . . .

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    1. I hope you enjoy it Hugh and that it tastes close to the memory of your mum's/ Taste memorys are funny things. My fingers are crossed!

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  13. Fabulous bread pudding, was so close to that my which mum made, it brought back lots of memories. I did add a big handful of cranberries to the other dried fruit, as well as an extra couple of tablespoons of mixed peel, but otherwise as per your recipe. By the time it was almost due out of the oven, I could tell by the smell, that it was going to be good.
    Thanks for a great and easy to follow recipe, most appreciated . . .

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    1. This makes me so happy to read Hugh! I am so pleased that it was close to what your mum made! Happy Days! xo

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  14. Definitely just like my mum made I have made it twice now its just coming out of the oven and the smell is delicious I love it cold with a nice cuppa anyone who likes breadpudding should give this a try its lovely thanks for the recipe.

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    1. I am so pleased that it is being enjoyed! That makes me really happy! You're very welcome! xoxo

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  15. Just looking at the photo, it looks exactly as my Mum made in Lancashire when I was just a young sprog.
    I have some home made bread a little stale, so will be trying this recipe tomorrow ��
    Mum also made a fantastic Lancashire Hot Pot as well which I cook frequently ! ��

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    1. I hope it lives up to the memories of your mum's Salopian! I bet your mum's Hot Pot was fantastic! xo

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  16. Hi I tried this recipe yesterday and as a male who does not bake I was pleasantly surprised. The Mrs who does all the baking was impressed. I will definitely use this recipe again!
    I did not have enough of dried fruit so added some diced pineapple which I had left over and also didn't have the right size tin to bake however it turned out great but not as thick as I used a roasting tray. A forgiving recipe even for the novice baker. Yummy Yumy thanks for recipe . I can now show off to family and friends,haha

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    1. Sorry for the late response! So happy you were all peased with this! Yay! Love the sound of pineapple being an addition!

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  17. I seem to remember my mother soaked the bread in water then pressed handfuls of bread getting rid of most of the water. The rest was the same as the old time bread pudding . Except for no milk but did have eggs in it. I guess this may have been done this way in the war time, but I tell you it was lovely. Have you ever heard of it been made this way

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    1. I am sure that it was done that way during the war because of rationing. I had never heard of it, but my husband's mother undoubtedly did it the same way as your mum! xoxo

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    2. My Mom is 100 this coming January and she made wartime bread pud frequently. As you know we had rationing in UK till 1956 so no eggs ..everything was powdered. My Mom soaked the bread,squeezed it out and chopped in the sugar and raisins with lard. no butter no eggs just some nutmeg. Grease the pan and load in the mixture. It is heavy but has a nice toffee tasting crust after baking..always a treat in our house. Lovely warm!

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    3. Necessity is the mother of invention they say Eileen, and I am so grateful for those thrifty and ingenuous mum's who made the best uses possible of what they had to hand to create delicious and nutritious meals for the families with very little! Happy 100th birthday to your mum in January! That is a real milestone! xoxo

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  18. My gran made this and I'm sixty three this yr,I've been trying to find this recipe for yrs it will bring her back to me ,thankyou so muchx

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    1. You are very welcome! I hope you enjoy it! xoxo

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  19. ‘Moil’ (for ‘milk’) remains uncorrected on the Printable Recipe…
    No matter, though, I made this yesterday and it was, by all accounts, fabulous! Thanks!

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    1. Thanks for that. I have fixed it. Happy you enjoyed it.

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  20. How long does it keep and can you freeze it , I made it yesterday and it’s wonderful but will take some time for my wife and I to get through it Alan (lockdown chef) 😂

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    1. It will actually stay good for a few days Alan, I have never frozen it myself, but what I would suggest is you try freezing a piece of it and then thaw it out to see what happens? Let me know how it goes! Also, you can fry slices of this in a bit of butter and serve for breakfast with a bit of syrup and some bacon. Delicious!

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  21. Didn't quite have enough or the fruit for the recipe so I halved the quantities plus I used dark brown sugar, dates and some tiny cooking fudge pieces. Followed the timings and it came out pretty good.
    I'd also been looking for a recipe for this for years but most didnt read right but your sounded more like it. Hope to get some decent dried fruit to try the whole recipe properly but I quite like my version, never thought I'd say that as Im no cook.
    Stay safe everyone x

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    1. Pleased you enjoyed this! Your adaptatations sound scrumptious! You stay safe also. xoxo

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  22. El Jay writes:
    Hi Marie, I found a recipe prior to finding yours which doesn't have flour in it and now looking at your pictures it comes out looking exactly the same, but I am wondering if it might taste different to yours with not having the flour in it? Also what is the purpose for the flour? I'm going to give yours a go though :-)

    Regarding Freezing:
    To Alan I have made 2 lots of this at once and popped it in the freezer all cut up in a container with baking paper over the top and tucked in on the sides for my brother in law so that whenever he feels like a piece he can just take one and heat it up in the microwave or he/we leave a couple out for it to defrost to have cold :-) It's sooo delicous!! Thanks Marie

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  23. Hi Marie,
    I am just wondering what is the purpose for the flour, could you please explain what it needs to be in there for? :-) Thanking you very much in advance for your time
    Kind regards,
    El

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    1. Sorry El, I thought I had responded. Oops! I don't know for sure, but I believe that the extra flour helps to prevent this from being too doughy. I could be wrong though. I only know it works well! xoxo

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    2. Thankyou very much for that Marie, very much appreciated :-)

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  24. I am 80 yrs old and have just made a bread pudding following the war time recipe that my mum passed on to me when I was a teenager. I have always made it this way but suppose I should modify it more now to keep up with the times! However, the bread is soaked in water and broken into small pieces, then drain off the water, add dried fruit, flour, sugar and mixed spice. Melt lard in a baking tray then put the mixture in and cook for 1 hr. Note NO eggs and not butter. I am going to try milk next time and butter but not sure about eggs yet. Bear in mind these were the only ingredients they could get hold of in those times. PS absolutely everybody who tastes mine as asked me for the recipe.

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    1. I suppose during the war it was made without eggs because they were in short supply? I don' know. In any case this is the recipe I have always used. Being a baby boomer, I guess it is different, but no less delicious than the original I suppose! xo

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    2. Hey Val,
      I am curious as to what your recipe is please - I would like to make the recipe I have which is the same as Marie's but without Flour and then make Marie's and yours and see the difference in Taste and Texture if I may please - You could either email me directly through eljayt1@gmail.com or reply in here if Marie doesn't mind :-)

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    3. Hopefully Val will respond! I will look forward to your results! xo

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  25. Replies
    1. I have not done so myself but El Jay commented above that he has frozen it quite successfully in individual squares. Hope this helps!

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  26. Hi Marie, how are you going? Hope all is well with you and yours :-) Thankyou for allowing my post for Val - I hope she sees it :-) Also To KATE above posted 24th May: YES you can Definitely Freeze this lovely Bread Pudding :-)

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    1. All is well here, thank you! I hope they see the responses also! I really appreciate your input! Thank YOU! xoxo

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  27. My bros and sis grew up with mums pudding for years,but mum didn't use flour,it was suet,I made one myself some time ago,and everybody loved it,everybody have their own way of doing things and changing recipes,but mums was the best,unlike the stodgy ones out of certain cake shops

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    1. I had never experienced this type of pudding before I moved here to the UK, and admittedly its not my favourite! My husband loves it however and he really enjoys my version! xoxo

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    2. My mum used suet too now I think about it.

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    3. I suppose it might be the same as adding butter?

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  28. Where is the side bar for your spice mix?

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    1. Hi Linda, I am sorry. I changed a few things around when moving over to Mediavine and I moved the mix recipes onto a separate page. Here is the link: https://www.theenglishkitchen.co/p/make-your-own-list-of-make-your-own.html

      I just have not gotten around to changing it in all of my posts that mention it! Sorry about that!

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  29. Is the butter salted or unsalted?

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    1. I always just use regular lightly salted butter. If your butter is heavily salted then I would use unsalted and add a pinch so salt.

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    2. Thank you so much for your quick reply!! We are making this for our art history professor's surprise birthday party... he loves British desserts :)

      - Michigan, USA

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    3. You are very welcome. I hope he enjoys it. Don't forget to make some warm custard to go with it!

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  30. OMG...I've been searching for this recipe for years. Could never make anyone understand that it's thick and dense.
    My mom made it all the time and since she passed away when I was 16 ..I never got the recipe.
    THANK YOU FROM MY HEART❤❤❤

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  31. Made this and was surprised.. very surprised.. no suet !! I did modify a bit but basically the same .. longer cooking needed at 180 .. Foot Note: I added more dry fruit.. peel was hard to get ..

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    1. I am so pleased you enjoyed this. Its a stodgy bit of a pud, but very much enjoyed by most people. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience with us! xo

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  32. As somebody else said, my family recipe calls for the bread to be soaked in water and squeezed out. Bit of fat, some sugar and an egg added with lots of fruit and spice. Love it!

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    1. Nice! I think there are probably a few variations on this theme! Delicious any which way I think! xo

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  33. I have never put flour in my recipe!

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    1. I expect that there are several variations of this recipe that people use. This one uses flour. 👍~Marie

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  34. Hi have you got the recipe for this please Old Time Bread Pudding

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    1. The recipe is right there! -Marie

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  35. Delicious. Definitely like my mum used to make
    Hard to find a good old fashioned straight forward bread pudding - not "bread and butter pudding"!!

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    1. I am so pleased that you made and enjoyed this Karen! Thank you so much for taking the time to comment! xo

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  36. I love bread pudding. My mum used to soak the fruit overnight in brandy. That gives it an extra special twist. Plus we used what ever stale bread was available, white, whole wheat. And added cherries to the mix. So many options to kick this recipe up a notch. Yum. I need to make some soon.

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    1. That sounds lovely! I Must add cherries the next time and get some brandy! Thank you!

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  37. Marie, this is the same bread pudding my mother made when we were kids.

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  38. I made it. Added an apple too was delicious

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    1. That does sound delicious! Thank you for the suggestion!

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