Savory Beer Bread Pudding

eat your pudding first

Think outside the sandwich next time you come upon a new flavor of artisan bread.  Right away, or even after it’s gone stale, turn your favorite bread into this savory pudding.  Serve it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  Serve it with some crispy bacon, beside a lump of Smoked Chicken Salad, or underneath crumbled sausage with a fried egg on top.

cooking information

• Yield: 24 Servings
• Prep Time: 30 Minutes
• Cooking Time: 30-60 Minutes

all ingredients

• 2 Cups Cream
• 1 Sprig Fresh Rosemary
• 2 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
• 1 Clove Garlic, smashed
• 18 Ounces Beer (use your favorite brand)
• 12 Extra Large Eggs
• 2 Loaves Artisan Bread
• 1/2 Cup Crumbled Goat Cheese
• Salt/ Pepper
• Non-stick spray

recipe instruction

1. To a small sauce pot, add your cream, garlic clove, thyme, and rosemary. Turn to high heat and cook until the cream is scalded (begins to bubble to the top). Once the cream has bubbled to the top, turn off the heat and let cool.

2. While your cream is cooling, cut your bread into medium-size croutons.

3. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 13×9-inch baking dish with your nonstick spray.

4. Add the crumbled goat cheese to the bread and toss together so all of the flavors of bread and the goat cheese are intertwined. Add the mixture to the greased baking dish.

5. Once your cream has cooled a little bit, strain, and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add to the cream, your beer and cracked eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Whisk together.

6. Pour the cream mixture over your bread. Make sure all of your bread is completely submerged and soaks up the egg mixture. (If there isn’t enough egg mixture, you can always add beer over top until all of the bread is moist.) Let the bread soak for about 20 minutes.

7. When your bread has had time to soak up all the liquid, place in your oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, check your pudding every five minutes (could take an hour) — it is finished when the eggs are completely cooked, the bread pudding doesn’t jiggle in the middle, and the sides are golden brown and crispy.

8. Let rest 5 minutes. Slice, serve, and enjoy.

cooking tips

• To make it a little bit healthier, you could substitute whole milk for cream. The milk won’t raise up as quickly so stop cooking it once you can smell the herbs you add to the concoction and then you won’t burn your milk.
• When I made this I mixed my flavors of bread. I used whole-garlic, cheesy, and whole grain breads. A combination adds a lot of flavor and is fun. Most major grocery store chains now sell artisan breads in their bakeries.
• You can always slice this and serve simply with chopped parsley for color. If you are a Cincinnatian, like me, top each portion with a scoop of cooked goetta. Creamy, crunchy, savory — YUM.