Discover the ultimate recipe for a truly exquisite bread pudding that combines a rich, creamy texture with an irresistible crunchy, sweet topping. This Easy Bread Pudding Recipe, especially when served with a luxurious brandy hard sauce, is a phenomenal dessert. It’s also an incredibly clever and delicious way to transform older, day-old bread into a show-stopping treat that will delight everyone at your table.

Bread pudding holds a special place in my home and is a staple dessert for any occasion. This straightforward bread pudding recipe is versatile enough for both elegant gatherings, enhanced with a sophisticated drizzle of brandy hard sauce, or simply warmed up for a cozy weeknight treat, perhaps with a generous scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream. The beauty of this recipe lies in its simplicity: just five key ingredients for the luscious custard, poured over your cubed bread, and then baked to perfection.

What truly elevates this to the realm of the best bread pudding is the addition of a unique cinnamon-sugar bread topping, which adds an incredible textural contrast and burst of flavor. During my time as an Executive Pastry Chef, I served this very recipe and its many delightful variations – such as this comforting pumpkin bread pudding with maple bourbon sauce or this bright and zesty lemon raspberry bread pudding with lemon brandy sauce. Each night, it was guaranteed to be a sell-out! This article will guide you through mastering this classic dessert, ensuring a moist interior and a delightfully crunchy exterior every time.

Why This is the Best Easy Bread Pudding Recipe

• Rich, Moist, and Effortlessly Easy: Achieving the perfect bread pudding texture can be tricky, but this recipe eliminates guesswork. It features the ideal custard-to-bread ratio, ensuring every piece of bread is thoroughly saturated. This guarantees a consistently moist and creamy interior without the dreaded dryness often found in less successful bread puddings. Simply let it soak and bake until just set – no more dry bread pudding frustrations!
• A Crunchy, Sugared Cinnamon Topping for Perfect Contrast: My secret to truly exceptional bread pudding, a trick honed in professional pastry kitchens, is incorporating a special cinnamon-sugar topping. Before baking, I toss extra bread cubes in a mixture of cinnamon, sugar, and melted butter. This creates a delightful, crispy crust that provides a magnificent textural contrast to the soft, custardy interior. If you’re a fan of texture, don’t hesitate to double this topping for extra crunch and sweetness!
• The Classic Old-Fashioned Brandy Hard Sauce: To elevate this dessert to an even higher level of sophistication, our recipe includes an old-fashioned brandy hard sauce. This sauce is wonderfully boozy, incredibly rich, and perfectly sweet, complementing the warm spices and creamy notes of the bread pudding beautifully. For those who prefer other accompaniments, this bread pudding also pairs wonderfully with a simple vanilla bean crème anglaise custard sauce or a decadent salted caramel sauce.

Professional Tips for Making Perfect Easy Bread Pudding

• Choose the Right Bread for Optimal Flavor and Texture: The type of bread you use significantly impacts the final taste and texture of your bread pudding. I highly recommend using soft, enriched breads like Challah, leftover brioche buns, pain de mie, or classic brioche bread. These varieties offer a tender crumb, rich flavor, and a softer crust that integrates beautifully into the pudding, providing a luxurious base for your custard.
• Embrace Larger Pieces of Bread and Keep the Crust On: Don’t be shy with your bread cubes! Cutting the bread into larger, roughly ½ to ¾-inch pieces allows the custard to properly penetrate each piece, creating a cohesive and satisfying pudding without it turning into a solid, dense brick. Additionally, leaving the crust on provides an interesting textural element. The crust absorbs less custard, offering a slightly chewier bite that contrasts nicely with the soft interior.
• Allow Ample Time for the Bread to Fully Soak Up the Custard: This is a crucial step for preventing a dry bread pudding. Older, slightly stale bread will absorb the custard more quickly than fresh bread. Regardless of the bread’s age, ensure you give it sufficient time to soak. This ensures every piece of bread is plump with the creamy custard, leading to a uniformly moist and delightful dessert. Patience here is truly a virtue!
• Fresh Bread Can Be Used, No Need for Stale Bread (Top Secret!): While traditionally bread pudding is a fantastic way to use up stale bread, here’s a professional secret: you don’t *have* to use old bread! Fresh bread works perfectly fine, as long as you allow extra time for the milk and custard mixture to fully soak in. While you *could* dry out fresh bread in the oven, who really has the time for that? A little extra soaking time on the counter will do the trick just as well, making this recipe even more accessible.

What is Bread Pudding? A Timeless Comfort Dessert

Bread pudding is a classic, comforting dessert with roots stretching back centuries, originating as a resourceful way to utilize stale bread. At its core, it’s a baked custard dish created by soaking cubed bread in a rich mixture of cream, milk, eggs, sugar, and various flavorings like spices or fruit. The soaked bread is then baked until the custard sets, transforming humble ingredients into a decadent treat. This versatile dessert can be enjoyed warm, at room temperature, or even chilled, and is traditionally served with a variety of sauces, most commonly a sweet hard sauce, a silky crème anglaise, or a simple scoop of ice cream. It’s a truly adaptable and satisfying dessert that resonates with home cooks and gourmands alike.

Essential Ingredients for Perfect Bread Pudding and Hard Sauce

Crafting the perfect bread pudding begins with selecting the right ingredients. Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll need and why each component is vital for achieving that rich, creamy, and satisfying result:

• Cubed Bread: As mentioned, the bread is the star! For the most luxurious texture and flavor, I consistently recommend using enriched breads like brioche, challah, or any soft white bread. These breads absorb the custard beautifully and contribute a subtle sweetness and richness to the overall pudding.
• Whole Milk: We use full-fat whole milk in our bread pudding custard. The higher fat content not only contributes to a richer, more indulgent flavor but also helps create a wonderfully thick and smooth custard texture. For best results, avoid skim or low-fat milk.
• Heavy Cream: Adding heavy cream is key to achieving that incredibly decadent, silky texture and a naturally sweet richness that truly makes this bread pudding stand out. The high fat content in heavy cream ensures a thick, luscious custard that coats every piece of bread.
• Granulated Sugar: Beyond just sweetness, granulated sugar plays a crucial role in the custard. It helps to tenderize the bread and, combined with the eggs, aids in the thickening process, contributing to the pudding’s set consistency.
• Whole Eggs: Eggs are the primary thickening agent in any baked custard, and bread pudding is no exception. They bind the liquid ingredients together, creating that characteristic firm yet jiggly texture that defines a well-made pudding.
• Kosher Salt: A pinch of kosher salt is essential. It doesn’t make the pudding salty, but rather enhances and balances all the sweet and creamy flavors, preventing the dessert from tasting flat. Do not omit it!
• Grated Fresh Nutmeg: For an authentic, warm, and comforting aroma, I include a small amount of freshly grated nutmeg in the custard. Its unique, slightly spicy and woody notes are traditional for bread pudding. If you’re not a fan, feel free to leave it out.
• Raisins: Classic and delicious, raisins add pockets of sweet, chewy texture. If raisins aren’t your preference, feel free to omit them or substitute with other dried fruits like dried cranberries, dried cherries, or even small, plump currants for a slight tang.
• Butter (for topping and custard): Melted butter is used both in the custard for richness and for the crunchy topping. For the topping, it acts as a binder, helping the cinnamon and sugar adhere to the bread pieces, creating a golden, crispy crust.
• Brandy (for Hard Sauce): The brandy is the star of our hard sauce, providing a distinct, aromatic, and boozy kick. Choose a good quality brandy that you enjoy the taste of, as its flavor will be quite prominent in the finished sauce. If you’re sensitive to the taste of raw alcohol, pick one with a pleasing aroma.

Delicious Variations & Substitutions for Your Bread Pudding

One of the joys of making bread pudding is how adaptable it is! Don’t be afraid to experiment with these variations and substitutions to tailor the recipe to your taste or what you have on hand:

• Custard Base Alternatives: If you don’t have both whole milk and heavy cream, you can substitute 2 ½ cups of half and half for the combined cream and milk. While the exact fat content might differ slightly, the results will still be delicious and creamy. You can also experiment with other milk alternatives; whole milk works well for a slightly lighter but still rich custard, or for non-dairy preferences, use a full-fat non-dairy milk and cream alternative, ensuring they are unsweetened.
• Get Creative with Mix-Ins: This is where you can truly personalize your bread pudding! Incorporate your favorite fruits, nuts, or dried fruits. Think toasted pecans, walnuts, chocolate chips, diced apples, berries, or even shredded coconut. Don’t worry too much about exact measurements – simply mix them in until the quantity looks appealing and evenly distributed to you.
• Bake in Individual Ramekins for an Elegant Touch: For a sophisticated presentation perfect for dinner parties, consider portioning the bread pudding mixture into individual buttered ramekins. Just like with my easy vanilla crème brûlée, serving custards in individual portions adds an elegant flair and makes for easy serving. Adjust baking time accordingly for smaller portions.
• Explore Different Sauces and Toppings: While our brandy hard sauce is a classic, the serving possibilities are endless! This easy bread pudding recipe is equally delightful with the rich maple Bourbon sauce from my pumpkin bread pudding, a smooth vanilla anglaise, a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, a luscious salted caramel sauce, a unique salted maple caramel sauce, or even a nostalgic butterscotch sauce! Each option brings a different flavor profile to enhance the bread pudding.

How to Make this Easy Bread Pudding Recipe Step-by-Step

Follow these simple instructions to create a wonderfully moist and flavorful bread pudding, complete with our delightful hard sauce. Detailed measurements and precise steps can also be found in the comprehensive recipe card below, ensuring you have all the information you need for success.

To Make the Bread Pudding:

Step 1: Begin by preheating your oven to 325°F (160°C). Position an oven rack to the middle of the bottom half of your oven. Thoroughly butter or spray an 8 x 8 inch (20×20 cm) baking dish, ensuring no sticking.

Step 2: In a large mixing bowl, gently whisk the eggs until they are smooth and uniformly blended. Next, whisk in the milk, heavy cream, granulated sugar, melted butter, kosher salt, and the freshly grated nutmeg. Continue whisking until all these ingredients are perfectly incorporated into a smooth custard mixture.

Step 3: Add 5 cups of your cubed bread to the prepared custard mixture. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, gently mix until all the bread pieces are thoroughly coated and have begun to absorb the liquid. Stir in the raisins (or your chosen dried fruit). Carefully pour this mixture into your buttered 8-inch square baking dish. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and allow it to rest on the counter for approximately 20 minutes. This crucial resting period ensures the bread soaks up the custard evenly.

Step 4: Prepare the Crunchy Sugared Topping: While your bread pudding is resting, prepare the delightful topping. In a small bowl, combine the additional granulated sugar, melted butter, ground cinnamon, and a pinch of kosher salt. Mix these ingredients thoroughly. Add the remaining 1 cup of cubed bread to this mixture and toss gently to coat each piece evenly. Distribute this spiced bread topping over the surface of the pudding, pressing down slightly on the larger pieces to ensure they are partially submerged in the custard. This creates that wonderful textural contrast once baked.

Step 5: Place the baking dish in your preheated oven and bake for 40-50 minutes. The bread pudding is done when the custard is set, and it jiggles gently in the center, much like a baked cheesecake. I like to test it by gently pressing on the center – you should feel a slight resistance, indicating it’s cooked through.

Step 6: Once baked, remove the bread pudding from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes before serving. This allows the custard to fully set and the flavors to meld. While you can serve it warm, at room temperature, or even cold, I personally find it most enjoyable when served warm or at room temperature.

To Make the Brandy Hard Sauce:

Prepare this delectable sauce while your bread pudding bakes, so it’s ready to serve warm or chilled.

Step 7: In a medium bowl, cream the unsalted butter until it is exceptionally soft and pliable. Gradually add the sifted powdered sugar and a pinch of kosher salt. Continue beating these ingredients until the mixture is smooth, light, and has a soft, creamy consistency.

Step 8: Beat in the brandy and the whole egg until fully incorporated. Once mixed, chill the sauce thoroughly in the refrigerator. This allows the flavors to meld and the sauce to firm up slightly.

Frequently Asked Questions About Homemade Bread Pudding

If you’ve tried and loved this delightful recipe, please take a moment to leave a 🌟 star rating and share your experience in the comments below. I truly value your feedback; your comments make my day and help others discover great recipes!

Before You Go: Explore More Delicious Custard Recipes!

I sincerely hope you enjoyed preparing and savoring this professional chef-tested recipe for Easy Bread Pudding with Hard Sauce. It’s a true classic that brings comfort and joy to any meal. If you’re passionate about creamy, decadent desserts, I encourage you to check out our other delicious custard recipes, including my personal favorite, the rich and indulgent Dark Chocolate Pudding Recipe! Happy baking!