RECIPE OF THE MONTH - Bread Pudding (Les Brock)

This is the basic recipe. For larger amounts of pudding mix just increase the amounts

using the proportions based on how much bread you are using. For example for 1 lb 8 oz of bread multiply all the other ingredients by 3.
 

Ingredients

 

1. 8 oz bread turned to bread crumbs in a blender or food processor or with a grater. It doesn’t matter whether this is brown or white. You can leave the crusts on as long as the they are well “bread crumbed”. If you don’t have a blender or food processor or a grater soak the bread in the milk for an hour or two and then pummel it with a potato masher, but in this situation it is probably best to remove the crusts.
    

2. Up to 10 fl oz milk. See below.
    

3. 2 oz soft margarine or butter, melted. – I prefer margarine.
    

4. 3 oz soft brown sugar – if you don't have any brown you can use white.
    

5. 2 to 3 well heaped teaspoons mixed spice.
    

6. 1 large egg, beaten.
    

7. 8 to 12 oz mixed dried fruit, to taste.
    

8. A metal or pottery baking dish. The size of baking dish will of course depend on the amount of mixture you are making but, notwithstanding the volume, aim to achieve a depth of pudding of between 1.5 and 2 inches. The pudding does not rise by any appreciable amount.

 

Method

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4, 350⁰ F (180⁰ C).

Use  a food mixer if you have one. Thoroughly mix the milk into the breadcrumbs(How much of the milk you will  require will depend on the moisture content of the bread, but aim for a wet dough like consistency. Once the egg and margarine are added the mixture will become more sloppy. The final mixture should be cake mixture density, pour-able but not sloppy. If the mixture is too wet however  don’t worry it can be rectified by longer cooking.) Now add the melted butter (marge’), the sugar, mixed spice and beaten egg and mix very well. Then thoroughly mix in the mixed fruit. Pour the mixture into a well greased dish and sprinkle over loads of freshly grated nutmeg and a sprinkling of granulated sugar. Bake in the pre-heated oven for about an hour and a quarter. Baking time will depend on how thick the pudding is, and how wet the mixture is. Check after an hour’s cooking by sticking a knife in. If it comes out clean it’s cooked if not give it another 15 minutes and check again. Once it is out of the oven sprinkle all over with more granulated sugar. Eat hot or cold.

It will keep well for up to a week – if any is left that long!

Enjoy!