Chef Anthony of Don’s Appliance is in his demo kitchen with Tom Petrone of the Pittsburgh Irish Festival!
Today: Bread Pudding
This is the 4th and Final Recipe!
Get your Pittsburgh Irish Festival tickets here.
Recipe: Pittsburgh Irish Festival Bread Pudding
Mairin’s Irish Bread Pudding
Ingredients:
- 2 Loaves of Bread (day old Challah or French bread) Cut into slices
- 6 Eggs
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 quart heavy cream
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 1 to 1 ½ cup raisins presoak in water
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Grease large baking pan
- Combine and eggs, milk and cream
- Line pan with one layer of bread slices
- Add 2/3 of raisins
- Add top layer of bread slices
- Add remainder of raisins
- Pour in sugar, butter, cinnamon, vanilla
- Let ingredients soak in for 1 hour
- Cover and cook on high, 1 hour (350 degrees)
- Then hold in oven until served
- Serve with caramel and whipped cream
Irish Bread Pudding History
Bread pudding has the most plebeian of origins, but it now shows up on the dessert menus of upscale restaurants.
Food historians trace the history of bread pudding to the early 11th and 12th centuries, as frugal cooks looked for ways to use stale, leftover bread instead of letting it go to waste. In 13th century England, bread pudding was known as “poor man’s pudding,” as it was a popular dish with the lower classes.
While bread pudding is still a way to use up leftover bread, it has gained a reputation as a comfort food and is a featured dessert item in trendy establishments, having shed its humble roots.
Basically, the dish is made by layering bits of bread and any add-ins in a dish and pouring a custard sauce over before baking. The possibilities for the dish are endless, because cooks can vary the type of bread and any ingredients they choose to add.
