When I was growing up, a family friend, Paul, nonchalantly mentioned that leaving a film of Ivory soap under ones arms would result in a fever by morning.
For YEARS my sister and I tried in vain to get it to work. We hoped and prayed and (most of all) scrubbed in hopes of a sick day at home with mom, but all we got for our efforts were very clean armpits. Thank you, Paul, for understanding the magic of home in the heart of a child and using it to get us clean. I’m sure my mom loved you for that.
If You’re Reading, Paul . . .
I’d like you to know home is still just as magical to me. There is more laundry than I remember but it is sweeter, too. When all Katie wants to do is play in the snow . . .
. . and sweet Micah scooches himself up to watch her . . .
I make myself a bowl of old-fashioned bread pudding and rub dirt on my armpits. Because seriously, every day is a day at home with mom now . . . only I am the mom and you’re a liar. So there.
If you’re not Paul, I’d like to share this rustic dessert recipe with you. I hope it fills you with warmth and reminds you of the comforts of home.
Bread Pudding
Equipment
- casserole dish
- bowl
- spoon
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw whole milk (coconut milk or half & half, not ultrapasteurized)
- ¼ cup pastured butter
- ⅔ cup sucanat
- 3 pastured eggs
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (how to make vanilla extract)
- 3 cups sourdough bread (torn into small pieces)
- 1/2 cup raisins
Instructions
- Melt butter in a saucepan, then add milk/coconut milk/half & half.
- In a separate bowl combine sucanat, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Whisk until well mixed, then slowly add milk mixture.
- Place bread in a lightly greased 1 ½ quart casserole dish.
- Sprinkle with raisins, then pour batter on top of bread.
- Bake at 350°F for 45 to 50 minutes or until set in center. Serve warm.
Nutrition
Bread Pudding Sauce (Optional)
Ingredients
- 1 cup half & half or cream
- 1/8 cup sucanat
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- dash of salt
Instructions
- Place ingredients in a saucepan and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes. Set aside for 5 minutes, then pour on warm bread pudding.
Nutrition
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Haha! This is hilarious. I remember trying similar things to stay home when I was younger! Most of those little “tricks” were useless. This recipe sounds good. I was wondering if it might be good with sprouted grain bread…or perhaps too dense. Sourdough sounds better, but I haven’t perfected the art of making my own yet.
-Kaitlin (P.S. just realized why my gravatar was never working….bc I put my real name instead of the farms…duh…hopefully it will work now!)
Kaitlin – Any bread will work. Some may not be as moist (not sure about the sprouted bread) . . . in that case I’d just pour cream over the top. 🙂
Need to fix so the optional sauce is added to the print version. there’s such a demand 4 bread pudding around here that the Golden Corral added it to their buffet to compete with a local. Of course that was in the good old days before Covid. But every one is different from the others. Usually in what spices they use. Someone was asking about adding fruit but of all the versions around here no one has ever tried fruit although one tried adding chocolate chips. But I am sure the fruit might make a tasty topping and much healthier than adding the ice cream on top which is my favorite go to.
Can I use raw organic sugar in place of sucanat, since I don’t have it on hand?
Absolutely. It’s a straight substitution.
For the record, a story I’ve never heard before.
Wow, really?
i MUST try this! i used to work at the Opus restaurant at the Meyerson symphony in Dallas and it was the first place I’d ever had bread pudding. I ate it almost every night after we closed. I’ve never had any better. Maybe this will come close =)
I worked at Pappadeaux through college and they made a fabulous bread pudding as well . . . from stale bread, of course! It’s one of the most delicious ways I know to prevent waste. 🙂
I’m on a cooking spree with my just finished vanilla, so must try this — especially since I forgot about the two loaves of bread I meant to temporarily put out of reach of my little one who smashes bread. The top of a deep freeze was not the place to hide bread & forget about about until 2 days later. I try telling my family it’s only hard on the bottom, but they won’t eat it. Maybe as bread pudding they will. Thanks for sharing. Looks so yummy!
” . . . my little one who smashes bread” – That phrase made me laugh out loud! Bread pudding is the perfect way to salvage your freezer bread, in fact you might not even mind it getting frozen/smashed or otherwise harmed so much from now on 🙂
oh my i’ve missed you. i’m officially trying to dive back in to blogging. we’ll see how it goes. i think i need to bake some bread just for this. it sounds perfectly scrumptious. goodness.
ok so i made this for breakfast today! i missed the part about letting the milk/butter cool before mixing it into the rest, but then figured i wouldn’t have wanted to wait anyway. it turned out delicious! will definitely be keeping this one around =) i might even try adding apples…
I am always on the prowl for the perfect bread pudding recipe. Going to try this one tonight! Have you tried putting any fruit into this recipe?
Sounds good! Love the pictures!
Should it be covered when it goes into the oven?
I like mine uncovered so that the top gets a little crusty 🙂
Next I come to visit Bread Pudding is my request. I love it.
I’ve never had bread pudding. lol
To die for
I just made a savory bread pudding for dinner tonight: Bacon Cheddar and caramelized onions.
I wish I could pin this!
I looked for a pin link & didn’t see one 🙁
My Son loves Bread Pudding,his grandmother would make it for him..I’m glad you shared this recipe..
Popa Teodora mmmm
Think this would work with any gluten free breads?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure, but I would think so 🙂
About making a fever overnight – garlic in the armpits works, according to a Goan lady I knew, who said it always worked when she was at the convent school – the nuns would let them sleep in!
Dunno how consistently it works, though.
Where did the bread pudding recipe go? I have made it in past years and would love to make again. This site now only shows the recipe for the sauce.
Hi Leanne! If you scroll up from the sauce recipe you will find the pudding recipe. 🙂
It disappeared for a few days. I see it now! Thank you.
I used to make this as dessert for my two youngest daughters back in the 80’s. The littlest was a pain: we called her “Gregory the terrible eater” because of all the things she refused. No eggs, no meat, almost NO vegetables. She would eat plain white bread & butter, fruit, cheese, cornflakes, and drink milk- I had a Jersey cow, so she got a fair bit of milk! Fine for protein, starch, and fat- but I couldn’t detect a molecule of iron in her diet. At that stage she was unable to tolerate wheat fibre at all, so I was sure it wasn’t good enough. However, we had healthy free-range ducks, and they laid well, so I got the idea. Every 4 days I would make a HUGE bread and butter pudding with 4 duck eggs, a bit over a pint of rich milk, stale bread & butter, and golden raisins , along with a modest quantity of sugar and grated nutmeg on top. It served another useful purpose: both girls would polish off their mains at a good speed to get to the dessert.
So each child had the equivalent of half a big duck egg smuggled into her every day, and I stopped fretting.
Now they are both in their thirties, glowing with rude health. And the youngest even started taking her diet seriously before she had her baby, so it all worked well.