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Sally Lunn Bread Pudding

Sally Lunn Bread Pudding

Shirl Gard
Two wildly different factors inspired me to create this recipe. Number one, I had a lot of baked Sally Lunn on hand in my freezer, from doing my post on The Legend of Sally Lunn: Sally Lunn Buns (2.01.16). Sally Lunn is a light and airy bread, similar to brioche, which makes a good bread pudding because, like brioche, it absorbs custard so well. The other factor involved a long ago food memory of the best bread pudding I ever ate, one that I used to have in the 1980's at a Manhattan restaurant called Lavin's. It was located in the garment center where I used to spend a lot of time when on buying trips (another career in another time) to New York. The result is Sally Lunn Bread Pudding.

YIELD: 16 PUDDINGS - 2" SQUARES
ONE 9" X 9" SQUARE PAN
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Ingredients
  


  • BREAD:
  • 510 grams Sally Lunn Buns
  • - Scaled after peeling dark crust off tops and bottoms of the loaves
  • - Make one recipe of Sally Lunn Buns: Allow about 1 1/2 500g loaves for this pudding

  • CUSTARD - UNCOOKED CRÈME ANGLAISE:
  • 560 grams heavy cream 2 1/3 cups
  • 560 grams milk 2 1/3 cups
  • 100 grams sugar 1/2 cup
  • 10 grams vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste 2 teaspoons
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

  • 120 grams egg yolks 6 large
  • 100 grams whole eggs 2 large
  • 75 grams sugar 1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons

  • 1525 grams = T0TAL CUSTARD 54 oz 3# 6 oz
  • 2035 grams = TOTAL CUSTARD + BREAD 71 oz 4# 7 oz

  • RAISINS:
  • 80 grams dark raisins 1/2 cup
  • - Soak in a mixture of 80g water 1/3 cup and 1 Tablespoon sugar: Bring to a boil, add raisins and remove from heat; cover and let cool. Drain off excess liquid.

  • 2115 grams = TOTAL PUDDING INCLUDING RAISINS 74 oz 4# 10 oz

Instructions
 

  • PREP 9" x 9" x 2" (23 cm x 23 cm x 5 cm) SQUARE PAN: Line the pan with heavy-duty foil by first tightly pressing a sheet of foil around upside-down pan. Then turn the pan right-side up and fit the foil inside, being careful not to puncture the foil. Trim the edges so that there is a 2-inch overhanging border all the way around. Spray the foil lining with Pam (with flour) or Baker's Joy. Lining the pan with foil allows you to lift the whole pudding out of the pan after being frozen so that it an be cut neatly into 2" squares.
  • PRE-HEAT oven to 275° F (135° C).
  • PREP SALLY LUNN BUNS: 1) Remove crusts from tops and bottoms of the loaves, leaving the side crusts intact. Slice the loaves into 1/2" slices. then cut the slices crosswise into 1/2" cubes. Spread the bread cubes in one layer on half-sheet pans and bake @ 325° F (165° C) for 12 - 14 minutes, until the cubes are dry and lightly toasted. Let cool on sheet pans.
  • MAKE CUSTARD: 1) Heat cream, milk, sugar (100g), vanilla, nutmeg, and salt to a simmer, whisking often to prevent scorching, in a small Dutch oven or large heavy saucepan. 2) In Kitchen Aid, whip the egg yolks and whole eggs with the sugar (75g) on high speed just until lightened in color and thickened slightly, about 2 minutes. 3) Pour the hot liquid into the beating yolks in a slow steady stream. 4) Strain the custard through a chinois into a bain marie, or strain through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl. DO NOT COOK THE CUSTARD. 5) Cool custard at room temperature just until it no longer feels hot to the touch.
  • TO FINISH AND ASSEMBLE PUDDING: 1) While custard is cooling, transfer toasted bread cubes to a large stainless steel bowl. Take out 1 1/2 cups (60g) of the cubes and set aside for garnishing the tops of the puddings. 2) Remove 1 cup (250g) of the warm custard and set aside to drizzle over the top of pudding. 3) Pour remainder of custard over the toasted bread cubes in the bowl; stir and let soak 20 M. 4) Stir in the plumped and drained raisins. 5) Transfer the pudding to the prepared pan and smooth with an offset spatula. 6) Scatter the reserved toasted bread cubes over the top of the pudding and press in; drizzle with the reserved custard.
  • BAKE @ 275° F (135° C) until set and the top is golden brown, about 45 minutes. Test doneness by pressing the top of the puddings. When done, no liquid will ooze out when pressed, and the internal temperature should be 170° F (76° C). Watch closely: Do not over-bake.

Notes

Recipe developed by Shirl Gard. As a starting point, I used a Crème Anglaise recipe for the bread pudding custard that was given to me by Gilles Lavergne, who I worked with at Wheatleigh when I was just beginning my pastry chef career.
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