Sourdough Bread Pudding Recipe

Did you jump on the sourdough train when we were all stuck at home during 2020? Are you still riding that train? Me too, bread has turned into one of those things I don’t buy from the store anymore. The problem is, I typically have a lot of hard, dry heels of bread hanging around. I really detest wasting food, so I save them all up and feed them to the pigs at my dad’s. This is a lovely alternative to tossing them in the trash, but sometimes they are on the counter for a week, just taunting me. That is why when my 4 year old was looking at desserts in our Betty Crocker cookbook a recipe for Bread Pudding caught my eye. 

You mean… I can put these dried sourdough heels to use in a tasty treat? OKAY, sign me up! Well, I’ll sign myself up and give it a try. And since yesterday was a cozy day here in the PNW I decided to give it a sprinkle of fall. So that’s how Sourdough Bread Pudding came to be a hit in our home. My four year old “did not like it” but kept stealing bites of mine, and we all know what that means. 

So, without further ado…. 

Here is the Sourdough Bread Pudding Recipe (with a hint of fall)

Ingredients

• 2 cups Whole Milk
• 1/4 cup Butter
• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 cup Sugar, plus 2 Tbsp for topping
• 2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 6 cups Dry Sourdough Bread Cubes

Supplies

• Medium Saucepan
• Large Mixing Bowl
• 1-1/2 Quart Baking / Casserole Dish

Recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 350°
2. Combine the milk & butter in your small saucepan and heat on medium heat until the butter is melted and the milk is hot
3. In the large mixing bowl beat together the eggs, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla and salt
4. Stir in the bread crumbs, making sure they all get coated in the mixture
5. Pour in the milk & butter mixture and mix thoroughly
6. Transfer the mixture to your baking dish and sprinkle the additional sugar over the top
7. Boil some water 
8. Once the water has boiled place a jelly rolled baking pan (the kind with sides) in the oven
9. Place the baking dish on the pan and pour the boiling water into the jelly roll pan
10. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until a knife inserted 1 inch from the edge comes out clean
11. Serve warm!

Notes for your Sourdough Bread Pudding

• The chunks of bread that had the crust were pretty tough, when I make this again I will either cut the crust off, or make sure the crust is along the bottom, fully soaking. 
• To reheat small portions you can use your small saucepan! Place the leftover bread pudding in and about a 1/4 cup of whole milk. Cover with a lid and let simmer for 5 minutes. 
• If you are over Pumpkin Spice replace the Pumpkin Pie Seasoning with 1 tsp of cinnamon or nutmeg
• Remember what I said about extra vanilla back in the shortbread post. We’re always letting that teaspoon overflow with the vanilla!