How to Cook Bread Pudding

Bread pudding is one of those desserts that you need to experience to fully understand just how delicious it is. The ingredients themselves seem ordinary, but putting them all together lends an extraordinary taste.

You may not know how to cook bread pudding yet, but these 5 ways to cook it will help you become the master of this incredible dessert for any bread pudding recipe.

Pro Bread Pudding Tip

Always give the bread a chance to soak up that egg custard mixture a bit. It will yield your absolute best results. Also, choose sturdy types of bread that will hold up to the mixture, so if you can’t find French bread, go with brioche, sourdough, or even challah.

While bread pudding is amazing on its own, it’s also a life-changing experience with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top or even some whipped cream. Don’t feel bad if you’re a bread pudding purest though. It is perfectly wonderful right out of the oven. Just try to resist digging right into it if you’ve made it for guests.

Some recipes call for raisins while some don’t, and since many people despise these shriveled dried fruits, it is fine to leave them out. However, just as raisins make carrot cake have that extra special something, they really make bread pudding shine. No judgement if you don’t want to add them, or if you simply have everything else to make a bread pudding recipe except for raisins and don’t feel like running to the store.

How to Cook Bread Pudding in the Oven

Bread pudding is traditionally made in the oven, so if you want to know how to cook bread pudding in the most popular way, here’s how to do it. It’s one of the simplest methods too, only requiring you to assemble the bread pudding in your oven-safe baking dish and let the oven do the rest. Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare your bread pudding recipe as directed, putting it in the baking dish with the creamy egg and milk mixture, allowing it to soak. Bake for 45 minutes and serve it warm.

How to Cook Bread Pudding in a Convection Oven

A convection oven can also help you know how to cook bread pudding and does so about as quickly as a regular oven. Prepare the bread pudding as directed, then set your baking pan into a tray of water. Bake at 250°F for 30 to 40 minutes. Always check at the 30-minute mark and if it’s not set, give it 10 more minutes.

How to Cook Bread Pudding without an Oven

If you somehow don’t have an oven or you can’t imagine turning it on in the middle of a hot summer, you can learn how to cook bread pudding without an oven. This will require boiling a mixture of milk and sugar first, then pouring it onto the bread. You’ll keep the eggs separate, adding them in after the milk mixture cools.

You can then put your pan into a deep pan filled halfway with water, then cover with a lid and let steam cook it over medium heat for 35 to 40 minutes. When the pudding has set, it’s done.

How to Cook Bread Pudding in a Microwave

Did you forget that you were in charge of dessert? Or perhaps you are craving a sweet treat and simply have no time to spare. If you know how to cook bread pudding in a microwave, you’ll be saved!

The way to make it in the microwave is simple and requires a microwave-safe baking dish. You’ll put the cubed bread pieces in and then pour your egg mixture in there too. Take a moment to make sure you get all those bread pieces soaked in the mixture, and once everything is moistened, pop it into your microwave set on medium power for 17 minutes or until the pudding is set.

How to Cook Bread Pudding on a Stove

You can also make bread pudding on the stove using a double boiler. You’ll put the eggs and milk in the top of your double boiler and blend anything else the recipe calls for with the custard mixture into it. Then you’ll put your cubes of bread into the mixture.

Cook the bread pudding on the stove over simmering water, making sure it is covered properly. It should take about 30 minutes, though be mindful of giving it a stir every now and then until it is finished.