Be nice to Dad, gluten free Chocolate Bread Pudding for Father's Day.
Far easier for Easter Sunday brunch. Aka baked French Toast.
Just right for Christmas morning, prepare the night before and bake while opening presents. We always do stockings, then breakfast, then all the presents once turkey is in the oven. England, it's turkey for Christmas Day and I still do that in NH.
May 2014 8x8 size for National Foundation for Celiac Awareness - now Beyond Celiac.
February 2015 Valentine's version for two for National Foundation for Celiac Awareness - now Beyond Celiac.
Easy for the kids to do in advance for dad.
I used to love making this with Portugese sweet bread rolls from Christmas Tree shop or Challah or Brioche bread. I loved a local Portugese sweet bread roll that I can't eat now. It is almost impossible to find these breads gluten free so I substituted an Udi’s bagel for gluten free, it doesn't disintegrate and doesn't have any funny taste.
June 2017 - I do like Canyon Bakehouse gf plain bagels, even more of a roll's softer texture to me. Aldi have gf hamburger rolls that I do like for hamburgers, but haven't tried them for bread pudding.
I like to mix the bread pudding ingredients in a glass bowl/jug, cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, spray baking dish and then pour in ingredients. This makes it far easier to clean dish. We find that this is delicious even with fat free milk and egg substitute, such a huge saving in calories and still very enjoyable to eat.
8x8 version
2 x Udi’s plain bagel cut into six from top to bottom. It normally has been cut from side to side, but very unevenly divided in 2.
¼ c cream
¾ c fat free milk - or use 1 c whole milk in total
¼ c liquid egg substitute
1 large egg or 2 eggs in total and no liquid egg substitute
2 tsp gf vanilla extract - I use Costco’s labeled gluten free - they used to be labeled gf, but with FDA guidelines changing!
pinch of salt
¼ c sugar
1/2c gf mini semi sweet chocolate chips. Tollhouse can't seem able to make up their minds, sometimes labeled gf, sometimes not. 2018 labeled gf.
Sugar for sprinkling on top
real eggs and cream are far yummier but egg sub and fat free milk is still good and quite honestly if you don't compare cream and fat free milk side by side, you won't really notice the difference when you've got fruit, bacon, sausage as well.
It's still Father's Day if he's a new dad, so this is the 2 person version.
1/2 of an Udi’s plain bagel or about 2 oz of Portugese sweet bread, challah or brioche. Cut into cubes about 1/2-1 inch square
1/2 c (120 ml, 4 fl oz) cream/half and half/ or even fat free (I've only used almond milk for milk and the coconut creamer for cream substitutes)
1/4 c (60 ml, 2 fl oz) liquid egg substitute or 1 large egg
1/2 tsp (3 ml) gf vanilla extract - I use Costco’s labeled gluten free
pinch of salt
1 tbsp (15 ml) sugar or more to taste
2 – 4 tbsp (30-60 ml) gf mini semi sweet chocolate chips.
Sugar (and sliced almonds) for sprinkling on top
1. Stir vanilla, pinch of salt and sugar into milk so sugar starts dissolving.
2. Beat eggs and add to milk mix.
3. Mix bread cubes and chocolate together either in bowl for overnight in fridge or in greased, small pyrex casserole of 2 cup capacity for 2 person recipe, or deep 9-10” pie plate or in 8x8” square brownie pan. I like to mix in 4 cup pyrex jug, leave overnight in fridge and then transfer to food sprayed 8x8 pyrex.
4. Pour over milk mixture and allow to stand for about 10 minutes (or covered overnight in fridge) for bread to absorb liquid. Sprinkle very lightly with sugar for a crustier top, plus almonds for visual appeal and some crunch.
5. Stand on a cookie sheet or a skillet (easier to clean sloshing liquid). Bake in preheated 350* oven for about 45 minutes. The bread pudding should rise like a cake, be light golden brown on top but still wobble. The middle should not have any ‘free’ liquid sloshing around but should still look moist.
Cooking time is roughly the same for both quantities. Let it cool slightly before eating. It will deflate as it cools, same as an omelette.
Options:
1. Add a few teaspoons of seedless raspberry jam to middle of dish for extra burst of flavor. Don't put frozen raspberries in center, they really slow down the cooking.
2. Serve with fresh sliced strawberries, raspberries, peaches, fruit sauce. Some bacon or sausage on the side is really tasty. Or just plain maple syrup.
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