Mini Bread Puddings

Yesterday, about a month! after Fazi, my good friend, my lunchmate, gave birth, I visited her at home. I didn't want to visit her right after birth, cause I felt like if it was me, I could do with some rest time, alone. But I also didn't intend to visit this late. Anyhow, I finally visited her yesterday.

I'm surprised that she had time to prepare for me bread pudding, which she served on a small ball. It's not like the normal bread pudding I've seen before. Normally they are in a square pie tray or something, and I'd always try to go for the edges, because I want the more 'crispy', or 'chewy' part. Then we'd need to pour some cream over it.

This one is different. It is round, about 3 inch diameter (baked using mini pie trays). And since it is small, the whole thing is crispy. Furthermore it was just out of the oven. We didn't need to pour any cream over it - it already tasted like all in one.

I liked the taste and asked her for the recipe. I want to bake it myself, for my family, when I got home.

Apparently she got the recipe from allrecipe.com. In allrecipe.com, we are asked to melt some butter and pour it over the bread. However, my friend said spread the However, spreading of butter of the bread before tearing it would ensure that all bread pieces had some butter on it. Also it means one step lesser - we didn't have the melt the butter. I'm always for lesser ingredients and lesser work.
And the one on allrecipe.com also calls for vanilla extract.

Vanilla extract is a point of contention for the Muslims. Some Muslims says it's not halal since vanilla extract would definitely contain 30% alcohol, that makes it vanilla extract (MUIS standpoint). Other say, what is forbidden is intoxicating drinks or any thing that intoxicates. This alcohol is in another form already, part of a vanilla extract, and will not intoxicate. Therefore it is halal (Dr Muhammad Salah view).

My baker friend Tina said, vanilla extract or vanilla essence, are ingredients that you can live without. It only adds a little flavour in the form of a nice smell to the food. Does not noticeably affect the taste. As such, if I can do without vanilla extract I would.

So, after the long story, what I want to say is, I didn't use vanilla extract in my bread pudding.

Oh, the main reason for this entry is, I want to keep the recipe. I've baked and cooked successfully before. And I'd write the precious recipe in a notebook. But because sometimes I lose momentum to bake or cook, for months or years at times, I also lose the notebook. It has happened a couple of times. So this time, I figured the safest place to record what I have done successfully is in this blog, which alhamdulillah, I have not lost for the last 6-7 years.

So here goes:

Mini Bread Puddings


* Makes about 6-9 round (3 inch diameter) bread puddings.

Ingredients :

4 pieces white bread.
Enough butter or margarine to spread over bread.
2 eggs
235 ml milk.
75 grams fine sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
Some raisins (optional)

1. Say BISMILLAH (In the Name of God).

2. Preheat OVEN at 180dec C. (about 10-15 mins before using it)

3. Spread BUTTER OR MARGARINE over 4 pieces of WHITE BREAD. Try to cover the whole surface of the bread.
Then tear the bread to pieces.

4. In another bowl mix thoroughly the other ingredients : EGGS, MILK, SUGAR & GROUND CINNAMON.

5. Then pour this mixture onto the torn bread pieces. Press with fork to make sure all the break pieces absorb the mixture.
You can mix some raisins if you want at this point.

6. Then divide the bread mixture into the small mini pie bowls or pan, about the size mentioned above (3 inch diameter).

7. Put it in the oven (middle level) and leave to bake for about 22-25 mins.

8. When done, the white part of bread should look golden and the bread edge will look kind of crispy in darker brown.