Bread and butter pudding

I cheat and don't actually butter the bread! Just whisk an egg into milk. Break up some bread and drop it into a the mixture.

Add any flavourings/spices or dried fruit and then pour into a greased dish (or whatever you use to bake in). Before you bake it, allow enough time for the bread to soak up most of the egg/milk mixture. Bake in a moderate oven until the pudding has set. HTH!

I have not made it for a long time. My mother used to make it to use up bread, in the days when rationing meant that nothing was wasted, and throwing out bread was almost a capital offence. She used to butter the bread lightly and cut it across on the diagonal, then arrange it in a baking dish on edge, with the corners at the top and sprinkle on a handful of sultanas,. She whisked together milk, eggs and sugar and poured that over it, including getting the corners wet, and baked it until it was golden brown and the custard was set. It looked like the one in this recipe. realfood.tesco.com/recipes/classic-bread-and-butter-pudding.html That one has cream, which we never had.

It was lovely - the corners crisp and the custardy bread soft and sweet.

I use brioche instead of bread, and mix in some fresh raspberries before cooking. Make the egg custard as usual and pour over, then sprinkle liberally with golden ganulated or demerara sugar. The grandchilden love it, or they did when I was able to cook for them....

I butter slices of bread and cut them into triangles. Line a greased baking dish with a layer of bread and sprinkle over dried fruit. I use a mixture, currants, raisins and sultanas, sometimes even chopped dates and dried cranberries if I have any. Whisk up a couple of ounces of sugar, an egg and milk.
Continue layering until all the bread is in the dish, pour over the milk mixture and let it soak in for a few minutes. Bake in a moderate oven until risen and golden.

Same as Elegran's mum......but I do butter the bread, quite generously actually. I would let the bread soak in the milk/eggs/sugar mixture for a minus of 2 hours before baking

Minus???? I mean minimum

I don't cut the bread -I just pinch them randomly and put it in the dish ....so lazy, so easy

This is my truest and trusted recipe from my 40year plus Good Housekeeping cookery book which has never let me down.
Cut 3-4 thin slices of bread and butter into strips and arrange butter side up in layers in a greased oven proof dish, sprinkling the layers with a little sugar and a couple of handfuls of currants or sultanas. Then heat 3/4 pint of milk but do not let it boil. Whisk 2 eggs lightly and pour the milk on to them stirring all the time. Strain the mixture over the bread and sprinkle nutmeg on top and let the pudding stand for 15 minutes. Bake in the centre of the oven Gas Mk4, 350F
for 30-40 minutes until set and lightly brown.
This is delicious cold as well.

I make a savoury version to use up bits and pieces from the fridge. I make a sandwich with tomato, ham or cheese, buttered on the outside, cut it into triangles and add cheese and seasoning to the egg and milk (one egg to 1/4 pint milk). Soak for while then bake. at 180C for 20-30 minutes until crisp and brown on the top and set underneath.

..... just wanted to add that I often make 2 and freeze one of the prepared but uncooked puddings. I was sceptical but it really does freeze just fine. Just defrost before baking as normal.

I do the same as MiniMoon.

We like the bread at the top to be crispy after baking, so the butter (or equivalent) is essential.

Oh no! I forgot to say ‘Add sugar to taste’ In my post upthread (13.07.39). Sorry

One of my DH's favourites! For a change I've sometimes made marmalade sandwiches, cut them into triangles and arranged these in the dish before adding milk and eggs. You really don't need to add sugar if using marmalade!

Otherwise I make dried fruit sandwiches and carry on as above, but with the addition of sugar to taste. I like a sprinkling of ground nutmeg on the top.

I’ve been using Lidl sliced fruit loaf with a recipe from an ancient Sainsburys Puddings and Desserts cook book. Six slices of that, buttered, cut into four and artfully arranged (buttered side down) in a squarish greased dish. Add a bit of caster sugar. Beat together 2 large eggs and a pint of milk, strain over the pudding. Add a bit more sugar and nutmeg if desired.
Bake at 150 (fan) or 160 C or gas mark 3, for up to an hour.
Easy!
What I won’t be recommending is the ‘easy’ chocolate biscuit pudding from Sri Lanka I thought sounded good in the Sunday Times magazine. The most fiddly thing I’ve ever made and it’s basically rich tea biscuits briefly soaked in milk and layered in glass bowl with chocolate butter icing. Topping is chopped roasted cashew nuts. It has better taste brilliant when it comes out of the fridge, that’s all.

Yes, I've tried all of the above variations and all are delicious, but always with the bread/brioche/fruit loaf buttered.
Just don't use too much bread and butter so that there is plenty of egg custard underneath.

Sometimes I have stood the dish in a roasting tin of hot water in the oven.

Not chocolate though.

Apparently Prince Charles loves this and his favourite recipe is by Mosimann's
Sorry, I can't do a link.

Elegran yours sounds like mine. If you like marmalade add your favourite in dollops as a topping before baking.
Cover with foil to stop it burning, and uncover for last 10 mins.

Oh just noticed Bathsheba’s post said use marmalade too.

My daughter made one from the last half of a large pannettoni, which was languishing uneaten. It was excellent.

Another marmalade fan here. I do Mini Moon’s version with marmalade. The same as Bathsheba I think. Absolutely scrummy.

A bit of booze and chocolate is rather pleasant as well

Well we've just eaten my offering. A mix of everyone's recipe on here but marmalade not sugar and aldi fruit loaf
So gorgeous and comforting. Not a lot left over tonight though. Thanks Grans

I've made bread and butter pudding several times since the lockdown, it keeps very well in the fridge. My attitude is that you don't have to be too much of a purist on such a dish, it can be bent about to suit your ingredients, in fact a twist of something else probably enhances it no end. It's a good way to use up bread slightly past its sell by date and as long as you have some sort of dried fruit I'm sure it will work out, it's not that difficult after all. I can imagine brioche is good, I'm sure my husband would appreciate a dollop of Marmalade on his, but not sure I would!

In France I once made one with a very large brioche type thing the bakery gave us for free (it was stale) with our daily enormous order of baguettes and croissants. (For a lot of people.).
It was fine but at home I still prefer the bog-standard version, sliced white bread, buttered, sultanas, etc. - with vanilla ice cream.
My mother never made it, since my father loathed milk and cream and wouldn’t touch anything that even looked as if it had milk or cream in it. So I always thought it sounded foul, until I had some at a friend’s house. Talk about a convert!