Savory Bread Pudding

Usually when you think of bread puddings, you think of something decadent and sweet. However, try a savory bread pudding and you may never go back! This recipe formed from a base of dry sourdough bread and a delightful and simple custard is endlessly customizable, too. Try different proteins, cheeses, herbs and sauteed vegetables to make this your own.

Equipment

• A large baking sheet
• A large mixing bowl
• A medium-sized mixing bowl
• Large frying pan
• A large enameled Dutch or French oven or ceramic making dish
• Wire whisk
• Microplane or fine cheese shredder
• Wooden spoons
• Sharp knife
• Cutting board
• Instant-read thermometer

Ingredients

• 24 oz loaf of sourdough bread
• 6 cups whole milk
• 6 whole eggs
• 6 egg yolks
• 8-12 oz gruyere cheese (or however much you want!)
• 1 lb pork sausage or mild italian sausage
• 1 lb shitake or crimini mushrooms
• 3 leeks
• 4-6 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup chopped italian parsley
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh sage
• extra virgin olive oil
• kosher salt
• black pepper

Preparation

1. Cube the bread and dry it out on a large baking sheet. You can dry it on your counter overnight, or you can put it in a 200F oven for an hour or two.

2. Slice the leeks and set aside.

3. Slice or chop the mushrooms and set aside.

4. Chop the herbs and combine in a bowl and set aside.

5. Mince the garlic and set aside.

6. Put the dried bread into a large mixing bowl and sprinkle the chopped herbs on top.

7. Fry the pork sausage over medium-high heat until browned and crumbled. Transfer the cooked pork using a slotted spoon to the mixing bowl, leaving behind any fat rendered during the cooking process.

8. Fry the mushrooms in the remaining fat, seasoning lightly with salt, scraping up any fond in the pan until the mushrooms just start to brown. Transfer to the mixing bowl.

9. Reduce heat slightly and add 1-2 tbsp of olive oil to the pan, and cook the leeks until they soften, seasoning with a sprinkle of salt. Once the leeks have softened, add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Transfer leeks and garlic to the mixing bowl.

10. Shred about 3/4 of the amount of gruyere cheese into the mixing bowl using a microplane or fine grater, tossing all of the ingredients together until well-combined. (I find it easiest to shred a small amount of cheese, toss, and repeat until incorporated to prevent cheese from clumping together too much.) Transfer ixture to your Dutch oven or baking dish, ensuring there is about an inch or so of space from the top.

11. In a medium mixing bowl, combine 6 cups of milk, 6 eggs, 6 egg yolks, and 3 tsp of salt, and 6 tsp of ground black pepper, and whisk to make the custard. (If you need to work in batches, the ratio is 1 cup of milk, 1 egg, 1 yolk, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper.) Pour the custard into the Dutch oven, making sure all of the bread is well saturated. Do not add so much custard that the bread is swimming, though!

12. Preheat oven to 350F. Let the bread pudding mixture sit for about 10 minutes, then gently mix everything inside of the Dutch oven to ensure that any dried pieces of bread on top get soaked in the custard mixture without breaking up the bread too much.

13. Grate the remaining gruyere cheese into a layer on top of the bread pudding mixture.

14. Bake the bread pudding uncovered in the oven until it reaches an internal temperature of about 165F using an instant-read thermometer. This can take 1-2 hours depending upon the size and shape of your baking vessel. Start checking the internal temperature once you see the cheese on top has melted and has begun turning brown. If your oven has a built-in thermal probe and can be set to cook until a desired temperature is reached, use that.

15. Let cool for about an hour and serve!