Lockdown bread pudding

In the UK we are in a lockdown situation, and we are not meant to be out and about unless it is necessary. So I bought a few extra items for the freezer to keep us going. Thinking about dishes to have with storecupboard staples like pasta, noodles and rice, I bought some packs of mince. 

To make space, I had to take out a loaf of bread I had been saving. I didn't want to throw it away. So I thawed it out and made some traditional British bread pudding. It is rich and indulgent. You don't need a large serving to feel like you've treated yourself. (It is not diet food, but I wonder how much we are worrying about that during the lockdown!)

You can make bread pudding with any leftover bread. You don't have to use wholemeal, like I did. You could even mix up unused bread from different loaves. 

You could add seeds to the mix, alongside the dried fruit. But be careful about how much you add, because you need the whole mixture to stick together, or the pudding might fall apart when you try to cut it up and serve it. 

I can't remember who I learned the tip of marinating the dried fruit from. I think it might be Delia Smith or Lindsey Bareham. That knowledge is lost in the mists of my memory, which is a little foggy in these days of lockdown. But whoever it was, it is a great tip, which makes the dried fruit so much nicer.  

Lockdown bread pudding

Ingredients
450 grams of dried mixed fruit and peel, I used a pack of Waitrose dried mixed fruit but feel free to use the stuff you like and mix it up how you want. Raisins, sultanas, peel, currants, cranberries, diced apricots. 
Around 3-4 tablespoons of dark rum

15 slices of wholemeal bread, crusts removed and cubed
600 ml whole milk
1 whole nutmeg, shelled and ground
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon (ground)
2 eggs
140g light brown sugar
100g butter
Butter for greasing, around 15g/1 tbsp
Brown sugar for dusting before baking
Caster or regular white sugar for dusting before serving

You will need:
2 mixing bowls, one needs to be large
Milk pan
Large dish for baking (I used a glass IKEA one)
Greaseproof paper
Oven
Wire rack
  
Method

Marinade the dried fruit in dark rum for half an hour. This is to make it moist. If you don't want to use rum, you could use orange juice or even a little tea. 

 
Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C. I would suggest 180 degrees C for an conventional oven.


Take a baking dish and line it with greaseproof paper. I use two pieces in a cross shape, as this avoids the batter collecting up in the bunched up corners. The cross lining should help make lifting the pudding out when you have finished much easier. Now take the butter for rubbing, and rub it all over the paper. I use a little dab of butter to "stick" the paper onto the baking dish and to stick the top layer of paper to the bottom layer. 

In your large mixing bowl but the cubes of wholemeal bread and add the milk, soak and soften the bread. Leave it to soak in for a couple of minutes. 

Add the nutmeg, allspice and cinnamon. Although something like Speculoos spice would work well here. 

Add in the eggs and the light brown sugar. Mixed thoroughly with scrupulously washed hands. Really get stuck in, because this needs to be mashed together into a thick paste. 

Melt the butter in the milk pan. Now pour into the mixture and mix it in. 

Now pour the mixture is poured into the lined dish, and it is almost ready to go into the oven... 

But first add a little sprinkle of brown sugar for that traditional crust to the bread pudding. 

Put into the pre-heated oven and cooked. I cooked mine for 1 hour 40 minutes. I might suggest you check it at 1 hour 20 minutes and then every 10 minutes after that. 

 
I then put on a wire rack to cool. Sprinkle with white sugar before serving.