Stalemeate

I am making bread pudding -- The question concerns the bread: I don't have any stale bread, just the fresh kind. Should I leave it out overnight to dry? - Amateur Dessert Maker

Bread Puddings (BP) have been popular in English cooking since medieval times. Originally made of leftover pieces of bread that were moistened and sweetened – not always with milk, cream or eggs – water and suet were the commonly used in the olden days. In the era before ramekins, stale loaves were occasionally hollowed and used as vessels to bake/steam the puddings. Modernity has lost touch with the frugal nature of the dessert, today BP’s are made with extravagant breads like panettone, brioche, challah, biscotti, croissant or leftover pieces of cake. Coupled with fancypants brandies/aged brown liquors, dried fruits, nuts and exotic spices; the 21st century dessert bares little resemblance to its parsimonious beginnings.

Even if BP has evolved into something that is only titularly connected to its begetter, BP’s are still a great way to use leftover bread. In the Saucykitchen, heels, ends and odd pieces of bread get combined in a giant Ziploc bag in the freezer - kept for the sole purpose of making a Bread Pudding at some point in the future. Even living a lifestyle where I am constantly thinking of/planning for my next bread pudding, I have to occasionally buy a loaf of bread for the sole purpose of turning it into a BP; this is done without guilt or concern – the bread goes from the bag and into the pudding. 

Whether the bread needs to be stale or not is not a universal conclusion, it’s a matter of opinion. Most, but not all, cookbooks ask for day old or stale bread, but they do so without explaining why, leading me tobelieve it is thoughtless repition rather than thoughtful instruction. Of my two most knowledgeable and esteemed book sources - Dorie Greenspan’s recipes call for bread that is “preferably stale”. Bo Friberg writing in The Professional Pastry Chef comments the bread should be dried is so that it can absorb the maximum amount of liquid. Mr. Friberg advises how to dry fresh bread by buttering and lightly toasting in an oven – A technique that technically produces bread and butter pudding. (BTW: Soft butter, 400 oven, 10 for minutes.)

People are emphatic about how to make a true Bread Pudding. Choices like stale or fresh bread - cubed or sliced – bready or pudding like consistency – whiskey sauce/sabayon/ice cream - include the crust or don’t include the crust - French or white bread – raisins or don’t put a freakin’ raisin near anything I am going to eat, choices that are needlessly contentious. Considering you really can’t go wrong with bread, sugar, cream and eggs, I wouldn’t worry about artificially staling the bread, just use what you have.