Oh, I wasn’t thinking a lot of fish. One, maybe two hands of crudely shredded smoked fish. About a quarter the amount of vegetables. Just enough to get a little chunk of salty smokiness once every few bites.
Yes! This is my son’s (and admittedly, mine too, but I let him have all the fun nowadays. Ah, the burdens of fatherhood…) favourite part of making bread pudding.
Bread Pudding
—300 grams of stale bread (we mostly eat six-grain, sunflower seed, dinkel-wheat, or other types of more-grain breads; the flavour of these of course seeps through in the pudding)
—1/2 liter of milk (I always use whole fat, more flavour)
—150 grams of sugar (any kind; brown sugar gives the pudding a nice caramelly taste)
—4 eggs (chicken; ostrich works well too but then you have to adjust the measurements of the other ingredients accordingly and gain access to an industrial oven. I’m not even going to speak of the one time we found a fossilised Brontosaurus nest in our back yard and made the King of Bread Puddings. Bit gritty though…)
—handful (or 2) of dried fruits (raisins are classic, but figs and dates work well too; apricots are fantastic in combination with honey)
—a chunk of chocolate (about as big as two fingers) and/or a generous spoonful of honey.
—nuts (any kind you like; I love hazelnuts or walnuts)
—spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, powdered cloves; even a bit of pepper and salt)
—Shred the bread into rough or fine chunks, as you prefer, into a buttered baking dish (preferably a rather narrow high one; the flatter the pudding, the drier).
—Add spices, honey and/or chocolate to the milk and bring to a simmer (with milk, the saying is “An unwatched pot always boils over and foams all over the stove.” So watch the pot.)
—Pour the hot, aromatic milk over the bread and mush with a fork.
—Break the eggs in the bread-milk mixture and immediately work them through (wouldn’t want the eggs coagulating from the heat of the milk).
—Fold in additional yummies like dried fruits and nuts (or chocolate chips).
—Draw shapes or ridges on top with a fork for decoration, and also because the tops of the ridges will ever so slightly burn in the oven and be extra crispy and caramelly. (thank you @Alianora_La_Canta for mentioning this in your recipe, thus prompting me to write this one down)
—Dust a thin layer of fine white sugar over the top, again for extra crisp and caramelly goodness.
Bake at 180 degrees celsius for about 45-55 minutes (depending on how moist you want it to be in the center and how burnt the top is after 45 minutes.)
The entire preparation and baking process benefits greatly from the whole family/group of friends gathering in the kitchen and singing Mary Poppins songs throughout.
Following the directions of a small child about additional ingredients, ratios of ingredients, or baking times leads to varied results, always interesting, often surprising. If you do not have a small child lying around the kitchen, listen to your own inner 8-year old.
Smakelijk!
