"bread pudding"

[mangerton]

I've bought a small white Hovis loaf as I don't usually eat white bread and it's horribly fresh. How long do I have to keep it before I can make my bread pudding.?

I don't think I shall be eating it for a few days by the look of it

It could be as long as a week, I fear, saly, with all the preservatives they put in these days. Leave it unwrapped, and out of the bread bin. That should speed things up a bit.

[mercia]

I can see that the original idea was to use up old stale bread, but surely if you have fresher bread you simply let it soak for a shorter length of time ..............



?

[amateur51]

It could be as long as a week, I fear, saly, with all the preservatives they put in these days. Leave it unwrapped, and out of the bread bin. That should speed things up a bit.

Better still, slice it according to the thickness you want/can achieve easily, thus increasing the surface area of bread to air, and so increasing the rate of ... going stale

Mind you I did this once when I was sharing a flat, getting ready to make bread sauce for a roast chicken dinner the next day. My flatmates returned from the pub, feeling peckish, spotted this bread apparently just hanging around, toasted it & to add insult to injury grated my first-class cheddar cheese on top & had a hearty midnight snack.

Guess who was not a happy bunny next morning?

The flatmates being blokes, needless to say no-one was at all sympathetic to my plight

[Don Petter]

I can see that the original idea was to use up old stale bread, but surely if you have fresher bread you simply let it soak for a shorter length of time ..............



?

There may be a subtle difference, for the true Breddie, but I think in practice that works fairly well, and was suggested in my #4.

[Nick Armstrong]

Don't know if this is mentioned up-thread, but a delicious way to tart up the old BP is to sugar the top and give it a blast so it turns into a brûlée topping. Esp. if you've dunked the bread in some nice vanilla-y cream or crème anglaise

[mercia]

my mother's bread puddings were always burnt on top [forgetfulness ?] but beautifully moist thereafter

[vinteuil]

... a delicious way to tart up the old B[read] P[udding] is to sugar the top ...:

... another solution is to throw it away and make (or buy... ) a nice pud instead...

[Anna]

Grandmother's pud used to have quite a thick topping of demerara sugar, which would catch nicely and be very crunchy. I would have thought with white Hovis there would be hardly any need to soak as it's basically all water!! It's a bit like white sliced toast, it evaporates to about a quarter of an inch thick. (Has mercia made his pudding yet?) Off-topic a bit, it seems Paul Hollywood (master baker and judge of GBBO) likes Warburtons thick sliced white

[amateur51]

... another solution is to throw it away and make (or buy... ) a nice pud instead...

[Nick Armstrong]

... another solution is to throw it away and make (or buy... ) a nice pud instead...

Eh??? "pud"?? "PUD"?? Can vinsanto have sullied his keyboard with such a vulgar abbreviation??!

Come off it - nothing wrong with a good BP, old sport!

[mercia]

I've just read a recipe for clootie dumpling and it's exactly the same as my bread pudding except self-raising flour is included

[Anna]

I've just read a recipe for clootie dumpling and it's exactly the same as my bread pudding except self-raising flour is included

But clouties are boiled, not baked and are, I think, quite heavy. How did your relative enjoy your pudding mercia?

[mercia]

How did your relative enjoy your pudding mercia?

seemed fairly impressed thank you [probably amazed that I was even capable]

took two slices with her to eat on the way home

[Anna]

seemed fairly impressed thank you [probably amazed that I was even capable]
took two slices with her to eat on the way home

Hurrah!! Glad to hear it mercs. I expect next year you'll be on the Great British Bake Off at this rate ....

[salymap]

Reporting on my white Hovis loaf, in the end I made a bread AND butter pudding which was okay. Lots of mixed spice, brown sugar, Sultanas and 2 eggs. And white Hovis of course. I may make another when I feel like it.