Bagel Bread Pudding with Fruit
When I see someone has brought in bagels, I can be happy when they added some crappy bagels in the mix - they'll be left over and I'll have bread pudding!
When I see someone has brought in bagels, I can be happy when they added some crappy bagels in the mix - they'll be left over and I'll have bread pudding!
- Carbohydrate 5.567365 g
- Cholesterol 165.276666666667 mg
- Fat 61.9667266666667 g
- Fiber 0 g
- Protein 2.67152833333333 g
- Saturated Fat 39.2384186666667 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Recipe (140g)
- Sodium 500.5995 mg
- Sugar 5.567365 g
- Trans Fat 4.32795316666665 g
- Calories 579 calories
Step-by-step
- Spray a large baking dish. Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Add the half and half to a large bowl so it can start coming to room temperature
- Whisk together the eggs, melted butter, vanilla and sugar. Add the nutmeg and cinnamon. Pour the egg mixture into the half and half. Add the bagel pieces to the milk egg mixture. Add fruit.
- Bake for about 45 minutes. EDIT: Make that 55 minutes. 45 it was so slosh-y in the middle. I had taken it out and decided it would take to long to cool in the square so I'd chunk it out to another casserole dish and pour the glaze over. The first big spoonful let me see the middle and I thought it was too wet for 3 eggs. So i put it back in. After 10 more minutes, it had begun to puff up slightly in the middle so I've decided to let it sit in the over turned off for 5 minutes.
Dense, chewy rings emerge from the oven transformed into a puffy, golden-topped custard dish with pockets of softened fruit and a crisp edge. Dense breads like bagels absorb dairy slowly compared to brioche or challah, meaning a proper soaking window is non-negotiable if avoiding hard, dry centers is the goal. Letting the torn pieces rest in the half-and-half and egg mixture for at least thirty minutes allows the heavy crumb to hydrate fully before hitting the 350 degree Fahrenheit oven.
Adjusting this bake for dairy or gluten limitations requires intentional substitutions rather than direct swaps. Standard half-and-half can be replaced with full-fat canned coconut milk at a one-to-one ratio, though the final flavor profile will shift noticeably toward tropical coconut. Gluten-free bagels tend to disintegrate rapidly in liquid compared to wheat-based versions, so reduce the initial soaking time by half to prevent a mushy final texture. When scaling portions up for larger gatherings, use a wider casserole dish rather than a deeper one to ensure the center sets properly within the fifty-five minute baking window.
Monitoring the core temperature with an instant-read thermometer helps eliminate guesswork when dealing with dense bread puddings. Pull the dish from the heat source once the center reaches 170 degrees Fahrenheit, allowing residual heat to finish cooking the eggs without over-tightening the custard.
