This mouthwatering Sourdough Bread Pudding is an easy to make dessert that elevates day-old sourdough into something spectacular. Rich, warm and comforting, this is a knock-out bread pudding recipe best served with rum butter sauce and a scoop of ice cream.
While you can technically make bread pudding with almost any kind of bread, I think sourdough comes out the clear winner. It gives a delightful tang and body to this recipe that really takes it over the top. Using mainly pantry staples, this bread pudding is insanely easy to throw together and is a showstopper when served with my decadent clementine rum butter sauce. It's great for potlucks, the holidays or honestly anytime you find yourself with a loaf of stale sourdough and a sweet tooth. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
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Equipment
For this recipe you will need:
- Mixing bowls: I love my Pyrex stacking glass bowls and use them daily.
- Measuring cups and spoons: This set of stainless steel measuring cups and spoons by Oxo is my fav.
- 12 x 9 casserole dish: Or a similar size alternative. I like using my 9x12 Le Creuset Heritage Casserole dish but you could use a round dish or whatever you have on hand.
If you are also making the Rum Butter Sauce you will need a sauce pan such as this one by Caphalon.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Sourdough bread: Day old or partly stale bread works best for this recipe.
- Clementine or Orange: I love using a clementine in this recipe because we always seem to have them on hand and they have just the right amount of zest and juice. But you can use an orange if preferred.
- Eggs
- Brown sugar: Light or dark brown will work. If preferred you can substitute with white granulated sugar.
- Cinnamon and nutmeg: Feel free to omit the nutmeg if you don't like the flavor. You could also add a little ground cloves or allspice.
- Vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- Evaporated milk: I really love the texture and flavor of evaporated milk and think it works really well in this recipe. If you don't have any on hand you can substitute whole milk or half and half.
- Whole milk: I highly recommend using whole milk rather than skim for the best results.
- Salt
- Turbinado sugar: Turbinado sugar undergoes less processing than white granulated sugar and has thicker, more crunchy crystals. It's perfect for topping baked goods. You can purchase it at most grocery store, including Target as Sugar in the Raw.
- Butter: I typically use unsalted butter but I know some people prefer using salted in their baking. If you do use salted butter I recommend leaving out any additional salt.
- Raisins (optional): I like using a combination of golden raisins and regular raisins (basically whatever you have on hand), but if you're not a raisins person feel free to omit.
- Pecans (optional): Again, I really love the flavor and texture of pecans in this recipe but if they're not your thing they can be easily omitted. You could also substitute walnuts or even slivered or sliced almonds.
For the Rum Butter Sauce
- Unsalted butter
- Clementine
- White granulated sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Heavy Cream
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
- Dark Rum or Brandy
Serving Suggestions and Variations
I absolutely love serving this bread pudding with my Clementine Rum Butter Sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. But you could also top with custard, whipped cream or a creamy vanilla sauce.
While I love the combination of raisins, pecans and orange in this recipe you could leave those out and replace with chocolate chips, other dried mixed fruits or even chopped candy bars.
Step-by-Step Photos
Recipe FAQs
No, I don't recommend removing the crust. If you have a particularly hard loaf of bread you may consider soaking for and extra 10-15 minutes before baking but it'll soften up in the oven.
Stale or day-old bread is preferable because it tends to absorb the liquid better. If using a fresh loaf I recommend cutting it into cubes a few hours or even a day before you want to make the recipe to give it some time to dry out.
That is entirely up to you and what you like. I personally prefer using a traditional sourdough, but I think a wholewheat loaf would give some nice added dimension to the dish. I would probably steer away from more intensely flavored loafs, such as rye.
I've provided a recipe for my favorite clementine rum butter sauce and I also love adding a scoop of ice cream when I'm feeling really decadent. But classic vanilla sauce, custard, whipped cream or similar would all work well.
Yes, simply assemble the bread pudding as instructed. Then cover with foil and store overnight in the fridge. Take it out of the fridge for 15-30 minutes before baking. You may need to add an additional 5-10 minutes to the bake time if it's still very cold when you put it in the oven.
Yes. After baking allow the bread pudding to cool and then wrap tightly with plastic wrap and foil. Store in the freezer for 2-3 months. When ready to serve simply thaw in the fridge over night then reheat at 300 F until warmed through.
Made this Sourdough Bread Pudding recipe? Let me know what you think in the comments!
Recipe
Sourdough Bread Pudding
Equipment
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring cups and spoons
- 9 x 12 casserole dish
- sauce pan (if making the rum butter sauce)
Ingredients
For the Sourdough Bread Pudding
- 7 cups sourdough bread, cubed This is about one 14-16 oz loaf.
- 4 eggs
- 1 clementine, zest and juice You can substitute with 1 teaspoon of orange zest and about 1 tablespoon of orange juice.
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 cup whole milk
- 12 oz evaporated milk You can substitute whole milk or half and half.
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1.5 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ cup unsalted butter, divided (6 tablespoon melted and cooled, 2 tablespoon cold and diced)
- pinch of salt
- ½ cup raisins, classic or golden optional
- ⅓ cup chopped pecans optional
- 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar
For the Rum Butter Sauce (optional)
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 clementine, zest and juice You can substitute 1 teaspoon of orange zest with about 1 tablespoon of orange juice. Or omit entirely.
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup white granulated sugar
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 1-2 tablespoon dark rum or brandy
Instructions
Make the sourdough bread pudding.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cut the sourdough bread into 1-2 inch cubes and place in a large mixing bowl.
- In a separate large mixing bowl whisk together 4 eggs. Then add in the zest and juice of 1 clementine, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract, whole milk, evaporated milk, 6 tablespoon of melted butter and a pinch of salt. Whisk until well combined.
- Pour the wet mixture over the cubed bread and stir to combine, making sure the bread is well coated. Fold in the raisins and pecans.Allow the mixture to set for about 5 minutes to let the liquid soak into the bread.
- Pour the bread mixture into your casserole dish along with any liquid left in the mixing bowl. Spread evenly in the dish then top with 2 tablespoon of diced butter and sprinkle on the turbinado sugar.
- Bake at 350 F for 55 minutes to an hour until golden brown.
- Serve warm with rum butter sauce, ice cream or custard if desired. Enjoy!
Make the Rum Butter Sauce (optional)
- Add ½ cup of unsalted butter and the zest of 1 clementine to a sauce pan. Cook on medium to medium low heat until the butter has melted. Add in brown sugar, white granulated sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract, the juice of 1 clementine and a pinch of salt. Cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes until the sugar has melted and the sauce has thickened slightly. Add 1-2 tablespoon of dark rum or brandy in the last 30 seconds of cooking and stir to combine. Remove from the heat and serve immediately with sourdough bread pudding.
- You can store unused rum butter sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Kerry
Made this last night after some over enthusiastic bread buying at the weekend, it was delicious!
Really loved the addition of clementine
jamjarkitchen
Hi Kerry - So glad you enjoyed it!
Yan
First attempt on bread pudding with your recipe and it turned out to be amazing! I didn't expect that clementine would work so well with bread pudding! Once again thank you for your recipe :))
jamjarkitchen
Hi Yan - So glad you enjoyed the recipe! This is one of my favs as well. 🙂