Black Country Bread Pudding
A dense, spiced slab of baked stale bread packed with plump dried fruit, suet, and mixed spice with a crisp demerara crust.
- Prep
- 45 min
- Cook
- 75 min
- Total
- 120 min
- Servings
- 12
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 340 kcal
Equipment
- •Large mixing bowl
- •20x30cm rectangular baking tin
- •Baking parchment
- •Wooden spoon
- •Fork
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 340 kcal
- fat
- 11 g
- carbs
- 56 g
- fibre
- 3 g
- protein
- 6 g
- calories
- 340 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Tear the stale bread into small chunks and place them into a large mixing bowl.
- 2
Pour over the milk and leave to soak for 30 minutes, pressing down occasionally.
- 3
Preheat your fan oven to 160°C and grease a rectangular baking tin, lining the base with baking parchment.
- 4
Mash the soaked bread thoroughly with a fork until no large dry lumps remain.
- 5
Add the suet, dried fruit, dark brown sugar, beaten eggs, mixed spice, nutmeg, and orange zest.
- 6
Stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon until completely combined and evenly distributed.
- 7
Tip the mixture into the prepared tin and level the surface with the back of a spoon.
- 8
Scatter the demerara sugar evenly across the top to create a crunchy sugar crust.
- 9
Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes until deep golden-brown, firm to the touch, and well set.
- 10
Leave the pudding to cool completely in the tin before cutting into dense, neat squares.
Chef's tips
Very stale or dry bread works best because it absorbs the milk thoroughly without becoming excessively wet. Always allow the pudding to cool entirely before slicing, as it needs time to firm into sturdy slabs. For a traditional twist, soak the bread in strong cooled black tea instead of milk.
Ingredient substitutions
- shredded beef suet → shredded vegetable suet or chilled grated butter
- whole milk → cold black tea or oat milk
- dark brown soft sugar → light brown soft sugar or muscovado sugar
Storage
Store cut squares in an airtight tin at room temperature for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Reheating
Enjoy cold, or warm individual squares in a low oven at 150°C for 8 to 10 minutes.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Slicing while hot, which causes the dense slab to crumble rather than hold neat edges.
- •Under-mashing the bread, resulting in pale, dry bread pockets throughout the dark pudding.
- •Using fresh soft bread, which turns into a gluey paste rather than a hearty pudding.
Serving suggestions
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