Bread and Butter Pudding: Recipe and Baking Tips

Bread and butter pudding is a traditional British dessert made by soaking pieces of soft buttered bread in a sweet egg custard and baking them until they’re golden brown and tender. Recipes for this rustic dessert first appeared in the early eighteenth century, most notably in the classic 1728 cookbook, The Compleat Housewife. Since then, bread and butter pudding has been a mainstay of British cuisine, offering a tasty way to use up stale bread with the help of comforting additions like cream, sultanas, vanilla, and warm spices.

Although these two classic baked desserts share similar names and ingredients, there are a couple of major distinctions between these carbohydrate-packed dishes. Bread pudding is a sweet dish made of stale, crusty bread soaked in a mixture of milk, eggs, sugar, with various mix-ins like raisins or chocolate chips, baked until tender and crisp around the edges.

Alternatively, bread and butter pudding involves buttering pieces of soft white bread before soaking and baking them. The softer bread in bread and butter pudding yields a more custardy texture than a typical bread pudding.

Home cooks of all levels will be able to master this unfussy confection easily. Follow these tips to make the most of your bread and butter pudding:

1. 1. Try different breads. Soft, sliced sandwich bread is the most traditional choice for this simple baked pudding, but feel free to use whatever type of bread you have on hand. Stick to soft, sweet, buttery types of bread like brioche, panettone, or croissants, which will produce a more supple baked pudding than crustier kinds of bread.
2. 2. Change up the dairy. Swap in heavy cream for the half-and-half for a richer dish, or use skim milk to create a lighter pudding. Use non-dairy milk or creamer, like oat milk or cashew milk, for a dairy-free option.
3. 3. Experiment with additions. Adapt this versatile treat to your palate and pantry stock. Fold in your favorite dried fruits, like figs, currants, and dates. Stir in cocoa powder or chocolate chips for chocolatey notes. Incorporate fruity extracts, like lemon or orange extract, for some variations in flavor. Top slices of this pudding with fresh berries or stone fruits, a drizzle of caramel or chocolate sauce, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream.
4. 4. Store the pudding properly. This moist pudding will keep covered in the refrigerator for up to five days, but it will have the best texture if you eat it within the first few days. You can also freeze butter pudding for up to three months. To do so, allow the cooked pudding to cool completely before wrapping it in a layer of plastic wrap, followed by a layer of foil. Then place it in an airtight freezer bag before storing it in your freezer.