Dr Mobeus
Bread and Butter Pudding with Jam
Bread and butter pudding was invented to use up stale bread, which is exactly why it is so cheap. If you have a loaf that has gone past its best, a jar of jam in the cupboard, and two eggs, you have a pudding.
The total cost works out at about £1.45 for six portions, or 24p each. That assumes you are buying value-range milk and bread, which is perfectly fine for this. The jam does the heavy lifting on flavour, so use whatever you have open.
This is a proper old-fashioned British pudding, the kind that was on the school dinner menu for a reason. It is warm, comforting, and sweet without being heavy. The nutmeg on top is traditional but optional if your spice rack is bare.
Bread and Butter Pudding with Jam
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan) and grease a shallow baking dish roughly 20cm by 25cm.
- Spread each slice of bread with butter, then spread jam on top. Cut each slice in half diagonally.
- Arrange the bread triangles in the dish, overlapping them slightly so the jammy sides are visible.
- Whisk the milk, eggs, caster sugar and vanilla together in a jug until smooth.
- Pour the custard mixture evenly over the bread, then sprinkle the top with ground nutmeg if using.
- Leave to stand for 10 minutes so the bread soaks up the custard, then bake for 30 to 35 minutes until golden and just set.
- Serve warm, on its own or with a splash of cold milk.
Tips and Variations
Stale bread works better than fresh because it soaks up more custard without falling apart. If your bread is still soft, leave the slices out on the counter for an hour first. You can swap the jam for marmalade, lemon curd or even sliced banana. For a richer custard, substitute 50ml of the milk with double cream.
