Gluten-Free Bread Pudding

Name: Gluten-Free Bread Pudding
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 85 min
Ingredients: 125 g mixed dried fruit; 400 g gluten-free bread; 3 eggs (medium); 150 g light soft brown sugar; 600 g whole milk; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 1 orange zested; 80 g butter (melted and cooled); 2 1/2 tablespoons demerara sugar

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Gluten-Free Bread Pudding has all the most delicious textures. Soft and creamy with a slight chew from the crusts and topped with a crunchy brown sugar topping. This pudding is quicker and easier than Bread and Butter Pudding with leftover cubes of bread soaked in a sweetly spiced custard and baked low and slow until unctuous, pillowy and crisp.

Sliced bread pudding showing creamy soft pudding with crunchy sugar topping.

Table of Contents

I’ll show you how to make a creamy foolproof Bread Pudding made from gluten-free bread. We’ll go through the best gluten-free breads to use, common problems and how to bypass them. Plus lots of flavour variations so you can make it your way.

This Gluten-Free Bread Pudding was my favourite bonus recipe when I was developing my Gluten-Free Bread ebook. Although Freezer-Friendly Breadcrumbs and Bread and Butter Pudding of course get honourable mentions. It works with any loaf of good quality gluten-free bread, even if that good quality bread happens to have been overproofed, be more than a few days stale and is a variety of different flavours from Cinnamon and Raisin to Sourdough to Wholegrain.

Something happens to bread when it is soaked in a rich eggy custard and baked to perfection in the oven. It’s one of those baking alchemies that wants you to deliberately stale the bread you worked so hard to bake from scratch just so you can enjoy this warm and comforting nursery pudding.

Slice of bread pudding on a plate with ice cream melting on top.

Why You’ll Love This Gluten-Free Bread Pudding

Texture. Crisp demerara sugar topping, soft and creamy within with a slight chew from the crusts and dried fruit.
Flavour. Deep rich vanilla custard flavour sparked with spice.
So easy! It’s essentially an assembly job. Whisk up your custard ingredients, drench your cubed bread within then 30 minute soak before pouring in a baking dish to bake.
Perfect use for stale or leftover bread (particularly if you are experimenting with gluten-free bread baking – it’s a process!).
Delicious as a dessert with your favourite ice cream or warm custard sauce, but also has a good enough structure to hold and snack on at cuppa time (I can absolutely testify!).
Basic British-style reliable recipe which you can switch around by using different kinds of gluten-free bread or dried fruit or different spices.

Best Gluten-Free Bread For Bread Pudding

For the purposes of experimentation (and not because our whole family has an insatiable appetite for this Bread Pudding) I have tested this bread pudding with a few different types of gluten-free bread.

Shop bought. The least successful is the thin cardboardy sliced bread. This isn’t my favourite gluten-free bread anyway so we rarely have it in. It produces a flimsily structured bread pudding without imparting any flavour. If you have loaves of this kind of bread you need to use up I think gluten-free breadcrumbs or a gluten-free bread and butter pudding are a much more successful recipe for you. This recipe benefits from bread with more structure.

But that’s not to say you can’t use shop bought bread – far from it. You will achieve great success from the kind of artisan type loaves. These create soft and unctuous bread puddings with chew from their crusts. Good allrounder loaves. Unsliced is best as you want to create good thick chunks of bread here:

Gluten-Free Tiger Bread. This is the bread I used for the photos.
Sourdough Cob.
Whole bloomers.
Brioche loaves.
New York Bakery Gluten-Free Original Bagels - it certainly gave more chew but it was delicious.

Homemade Gluten-Free Bread. If you love bread baking it won’t be uncommon to have more homemade bread knocking around your kitchen than you can eat as gluten-free bread stales fast. Perfection on Day 1, toast on Day 2 then delicious for baking on Day 3. If you are using any of my recipes this kind of bread produces a bread pudding which is has a more robust body. The crusts are stronger than shop bought so it will have more chew and is a little more resistant to the mashing stage. However, this bread has so much depth of flavour thanks to our wholegrain flours that it is my favourite version of this dessert.

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Ingredients Needed

Dried fruit. If you have lots of leftover dried fruit in then use up whatever you have. However, 50% raisins and 50% sultanas are my favourite standby. You can use the bags of mixed dried fruit you can buy at the supermarket or add in a little sourness from dried cranberries or dried sour cherries. Mixed peel, glacé cherries – any of these are great additions.

Orange. Make sure it is unwaxed and organic otherwise you need to scrub off the wax.

Gluten-free bread. You really need unsliced bread and artisan type loaves work much better (see above). Ensure your store bought bread is certified gluten-free. Homemade gluten-free bread gives good robust and well-flavoured results.

Eggs. This recipe uses medium size, about 60g each with shell (50g each without shell). These are often classified as large eggs in the US. I recommend weighing your eggs to ensure the correct amount.

Light soft brown sugar. Using brown sugar adds a gentle molasses flavour and moisture to the custard base.

Milk. Use whole milk or a plant based milk if you are making dairy-free.

Unsalted butter. There’s no extra salt in this recipe so you can use unsalted or salted if you wanted that slight salty hit. If you need this recipe to be dairy-free then use melted coconut oil.

Spices. Ground cinnamon and nutmeg are classics and add a rich warmth.

Vanilla extract. You don’t need to use the best quality vanilla extract here as there's already a lot going on with the flavours and it won't make a difference. A supermarket brand is just fine.

Demerara sugar. This is a crunchy brown sugar which is sprinkled over the top for a crisp surface. You can use turbinado sugar.

How To Make Gluten-Free Bread Pudding

The following gives a short concise method with step-by-step images. For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.

Beat eggs, milk and sugar together with the cinnamon, nutmeg, orange zest and vanilla extract. Pour the cooled melted butter into the rest of the custard batter whilst whisking continually.

Wet ingredients for bread pudding custard in a bowl with butter pouring in.

Place cubed gluten-free bread into the custard, submerging fully and allow to soak for 30 minutes. Lightly mash the bread into the custard so some of it is totally absorbed and thickens the custard.

Cubes of bread covered in custard, then mashed slightly with potato masher.

Pour the bread custard into a lined and greased baking tin. Sprinkle the demerara sugar over the top.

Bread pudding in a baking tin before and after sugar topping is added. Before it's been baked.

Bake for 40-45 minutes. Leave the bread pudding in the tin for about 15 minutes to ensure the pudding has set. You can either serve directly from the tin or remove from the tin and allow to cool completely before slicing.

Bread pudding in a baking tin after baking, in and outside of the tin.

Expert Tips

You can use stale leftover bread but if you want to make this recipe using fresh bread then you absolutely can. First you need to ‘stale’ the bread. Don’t be tempted to leave it out for the elements to stale as actually the perfect texture is a crisp outside and a soft inside. Instead bake sliced bread on a very low oven setting before cubing and using as normal in the recipe.

Try soaking the dried fruit in the orange juice from the orange for at least 30 minutes before you pat dry and add to the recipe. It helps to plump up the dried fruit and adds extra citrusy notes.

This bread pudding is made the British-style which is usually cooled and sliced. However, this version is creamier than the kind we can buy from our local bakery. It’s like the best of both worlds.

If you prefer an even creamier dessert to eat warm then reduce the oven time to 30-35 minutes and serve directly from the tin 10 minutes after baking.

FAQs

Should you take the crust off your bread?

The crust will give your Bread Pudding such a delicious chew and robust texture that I don’t recommend removing the crusts.

Do you take bread pudding straight out of the baking tin?

No, allow it to rest in the tin for about 15 minutes to ensure the custard has set correctly. You can leave it cool completely in the tin if you like.

Why have I made bread encased in oven-baked scrambled eggs?

Oh yes, I’ve done this. Usually because the melted butter was too hot when added into the cool eggs and they scrambled. Make sure your butter has totally cooled before adding in. Don’t worry if this has happened – it still tastes good but the texture just isn’t quite right.

Why is my gluten-free bread pudding too soggy?

Gluten-free bread can be more fragile than regular bread so often falls apart if soaked for too long. It depends on your brand of bread. You can try soaking for just 15-20 minutes next time. Also, you might have cut your bread into chunks which are too small and if you think you did then you can increase the size next time.

Why is my bread pudding too dry?

Your gluten-free bread needed more soaking in the custard (sometimes the case with homemade gluten-free bread which can be more robust). Or the bread you were using was too stale and just couldn’t take on the custard very well. Your stale bread should still have a softness on the inside, if it’s totally dried out it won’t be as successful, or you could try soaking for longer or you can add more milk to your custard. Also, you might have cut your bread into chunks which are too large and if you think you did then you can reduce the size next time.

How do you know if your bread has soaked for enough time?

Make sure you can squish an individual cube of bread easily between your fingers. Store bought gluten-free bread might need less soaking time than homemade gluten-free bread.

How do you store bread pudding?

This version is quite moist and creamy and benefits from storing in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in an airtight container.

Can you freeze bread pudding?

Yes, you freeze the whole pudding or you can freeze in slices. Cool the bread pudding completely then double wrap the whole pudding (or each slice) in plastic wrap (cling film). If it’s the whole pudding then wrap again in aluminium foil and freeze on a baking tray. If you are freezing in slices place them in an airtight container. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

Can you re-heat bread pudding?

I recommend re-heating the sliced bread pudding in individual slices. For about 45 seconds – 1 minute in the microwave. You can re-heat in the oven. Place the slices on a lined baking tray and bake for 10-15 minutes in a pre-heated oven.

Serving Suggestions

This bread pudding is absolutely delicious by itself with no adornments. However if you are serving for dessert then these are my favourite accompaniments:

Recipe Variations

Coconut Rum Bread Pudding. We had this version in Barbados earlier this year and it was incredible. Soak the dried fruit in 80g (⅓ cup) in good quality rum for at least 1 hour, before adding into the custard. Add 80g desiccated coconut in with the dried fruit. Swap half the milk for coconut milk. Add 2 tablespoons coconut chips on the top to crisp up. Serve with a rum coconut custard.

Pecan Praline Bread Pudding. I went to a cookery lesson in New Orleans years ago and we made this gorgeous version which I’ve never forgotten. Add 100g roughly chopped pecans into the pudding alongside the dried fruit. Scatter 2 tablespoons chopped pecans over the top.

Baileys Date Bread Pudding. Use diced medjool dates instead of the mixed dried fruit and soak them in 80g Baileys for 1 hour beforehand. Pour the fruit and Baileys into the bread pudding custard before adding in the bread.

Dairy-free version. You only need to make a few swaps to make sure this recipe is dairy-free:

Firstly do ensure the bread you are using is dairy-free.
Swap the butter for melted coconut oil.
Swap the milk for your favourite plant-based milk. Any will work for this recipe: coconut milk, almond milk, oat milk (make sure it’s gluten-free) are all good choices.

More Ways To Use Up Leftover Gluten-Free Bread

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This Homemade Gluten-Free Breadcrumbs is an easy recipe to make and simple to customise. You’ll discover what kind of bread to use, the best way to use them depending on what recipe you need them for and how to season them. So, let's dry out, whizz up, flavour and season together to make better crumbs for all your baking and cooking requirements.

This Gluten-Free Bread Sauce is a quintessentially British classic accompaniment to a roast dinner. Whether it’s roast chicken, Christmas dinner or game dishes, creamy bread sauce is a classic spooning sauce and in this instance specifically made with your favourite gluten-free white loaf.