How to Use Donuts or Cinnamon Rolls for Bread Pudding Recipes

Bread pudding isn't a complicated dish. It works best with day-old, stale bread, but no specific kind of bread is mandated. Americans typically trim sliced day-old white bread as the base for this old-fashioned comfort food, but thrifty cooks have used any yeast-formed bread product that was handy for this sweet treat. Each type of bread requires certain modifications, but you can use cinnamon rolls or donuts as a base without a problem.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Glass baking pan, 9 inches by 13 inches
• Butter or cooking spray
• Cinnamon rolls or donuts
• Whole milk
• Large bowl
• 4 to 6 eggs
• 12-oz. can evaporated milk
• 1 to 2 cups sugar or corn syrup
• Cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla or orange zest, if desired
• Wire whisk
• Raisins, apples, peaches or nuts (your preference)
• Washcloth
• Large, deep-sided cookie sheet or lasagna pan

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease the baking pan with several tablespoons of butter or spray with a cooking spray.

3. Cover the bottom of the prepared pan with rolls or donuts. Tear glazed or slick-surfaced donuts or cinnamon rolls into 1-inch pieces. If the donuts or rolls are porous, cake-style pastries, merely line the bottom of the pan with them.

4. Barely cover the rolls or donuts with room-temperature milk and set aside to soak for at least 15 minutes before baking.

5. Whisk four to six eggs (depending on the size of the pan), evaporated milk and sugar in a large bowl. Use 1 to 2 cups of sugar for unglazed cinnamon rolls and cake donuts. Use less for pastry with frosting and none for sticky glazed buns or raised donuts.

6. Add 1 tsp. of cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla (essence or bean) or orange zest if desired.

7. Pour the mixture over the pastry and allow it to sit for about 15 minutes.

8. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup to 1 cup of raisins, Sultanas (white raisins), apples or peaches; or choose pecans or other nuts, according to taste.

9. Put a washcloth inside the larger pan and sit the glass pan on top. Add about 1 inch of water around the sides of the pudding pan.

10. Bake until it's gently browned and firm, making sure 1 inch of water is maintained during baking. Start checking for doneness after about 50 minutes.

Tips & Warnings

• If you don't have a pan large enough to contain the baking pan, bake the bread pudding in a large (2-quart) casserole that fits in a high-sided pan.
• You may keep bread pudding covered overnight in the refrigerator before baking, especially if it is made with whole rolls or donuts.
• Corn syrup can be substituted measure for measure for sugar. Use dark corn syrup with pecans for a touch of the South. Evaporated milk can be used interchangeably with whole milk.
• Avoid sweet sauces, such as caramel or rum, for this bread pudding; use a whiskey or brandy sauce instead.
• Measurements are too variable to be absolute. Use double the measure of milk to sugar and about four eggs per quart of pudding.

References

• "The Complete Kitchen Guide"; Christensen and Smith; 1968
• Martinsville Bulletin Donut Recipe
• Individual Cinnamon Roll Recipe

Resources

• Cooks' Cinnamon Roll Recipe
• Allrecipes' Donut Bread Pudding Recipe
• Southern Donut Bread Pudding Recipe

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