Bread pudding
A dessert made from stale bread, milk, and eggs.
Bread pudding is a dessert that originated in Britain, made with stale bread and milk, cream, or water. It generally also contains eggs, a form of fat such as oil, butter, or suet, and depending on whether the pudding is sweet or savory, a variety of other ingredients. Sweet bread puddings may use sugar, syrup, honey, dried fruit, nuts, and spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, and vanilla. The bread is soaked in the liquids, mixed with the other ingredients, and baked. Savory puddings like breakfast strata may be served as main courses, while sweet puddings are typically eaten as desserts. The dessert is also known as poor man's pudding or just pudding.
- Origin
- Britain
- First known century
- 11th century
- Also known as
- Poor man's pudding
- Key ingredients
- Stale bread, milk/cream/water, eggs, fat, sugar/spices
- Notable variations
- Capirotada (Mexico), Nelson Squares (UK), Shahi Tukra (Bangladesh)
Lore & Background
Bread pudding originated with 11th-century English cooks who repurposed leftover stale bread. In the following centuries, the dish became known as 'poor man's pudding' because of the scarcity of food at the time, with the pudding being made only with boiling water, sugar, and spices. It was only in the 13th century that eggs and milk were added to the recipe, which then became known as Bread and butter pudding. The 18th-century English cookbook The Compleat Housewife contains two recipes for baked bread pudding, the first identified as 'A Bread and Butter Pudding for Fasting Days'.
Reader's Guide
Bread pudding's significance lies in its origins as a frugal dish that repurposed stale bread, reflecting historical food scarcity. Over centuries, it evolved from a simple mixture of water, sugar, and spices to include eggs and milk in the 13th century, becoming a versatile dessert or savory main course. Its spread to the 13 English Colonies in America and subsequent global variations—such as the Mexican capirotada, the Filipino pan de regla, and the Turkish ekmek kadayıfı—demonstrate its adaptability to local ingredients and tastes. The dish remains a comfort food in many cultures, often served with sauces like rum, whiskey, or custard, and continues to be a symbol of resourcefulness in cooking.
Did You Know?
- Bread pudding originated with 11th-century English cooks who repurposed leftover stale bread.
- In the 13th century, eggs and milk were added to the recipe, which then became known as Bread and butter pudding.
- In Liverpool, a moist version of Nelson Squares is nicknamed 'Wet Nelly'.
- In the Philippines, bread pudding made with Pandesal is popular.
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