The Humble Bread Pudding

I can't remember ever having anything remotely similar to a bread pudding back in my home country (Norway). My grandfather had his own way of dealing with stale bread and crusts. He'd cube them, sprinkle on brown sugar, then add hot black coffee, followed by cold milk.

My mother-in-law (or mother-in-love as my own mother nick-named her) showed me how to make her version - and I have stuck with that, more or less, ever since. No proper weights and measures, just whatever stale bread was available, plus a little of this and a little of that, all mixed together to a mush, with some dried fruit thrown in and then baked till 'spongy'.

I made a bread pudding today, along the same lines, but I also made a gluten free version, noting down the quantities as I went. A proper recipe, no less. It was successful, too - it looked good (see photo) and tasted good.

GLUTEN FREE BREAD PUDDING

7 slices - or half a loaf of multi seeded (brown) sliced bread (Free From shelf in supermarkets)

A splash of hot water from the kettle

A mug of semi skimmed milk

1 oz (25g) softened block margarine (I use Stork)

3 tbsp Demerera sugar

1 lge egg (mine are from happy chickens roaming free)

1 oz (25g) + plain gluten free flour (such as Dove Farm)

1 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp gluten free baking powder

4 oz (100g) mixed, dried fruit

This kind of gluten free shop-bought bread is so fragile that it's usually already broken up in the packet, in my experience - but if not, just tear into small pieces. Soak in water and milk for an hour or two, then make sure it's turned into a 'mush', using a wooden spoon. Cream in margarine and sugar, before adding a little of the flour. Break the egg into this before mixing well.

Using a little of the flour when adding the egg, stops the egg curdling.

Add the rest of the flour, the mixed spice and the baking powder and mix it all together. Give it a good stir before adding the mixed fruit, then pour it into a greased 2lb (1kg) loaf tin.

I baked it in a fan oven at 180C, for 45 minutes, then turned the oven off, leaving the pudding in till the oven had completely cooled before taking it out.

I like it as it is, but add sauces/custard as desired.

Did you know...

that bread pudding had its humble beginnings in Britain, back in the 13th century - and that it was called 'poor man's pudding'? It was also known as Bodding - and Brood Pudding (similar to what the Norwegian word for it: Bród Pudding)

I can't imagine the real poor ever having any bread left to go stale, nor sugar and spices, back in those days - so I'm not so sure about the suitability of the name - but that's how the story goes.

Perhaps the humble bread pudding wasn't as humble as it made out to be. Perhaps then as now* (*in fine restaurants, no less), it was served as a culinary delight, topped with scrumptious sauces - or as a savoury dish with the addition of meat or fish.

Still - my gluten free brood pudding is as humble and simple as it can be - yet it can be tarted up with the rest of them, given the occasion.