Peach buttermilk bread pudding is summertime hit

The peaches are glowing on our two trees. They’re rosy and magnificent. And hard as rocks.

I hope they survive the garden pests long enough to ripen and be ready for picking and eating. People rave about Georgia peaches, and with good reason. You hardly ever hear anyone go on and on about New England peaches, but in fact we do enjoy some luscious, juicy varieties, just later in the season.

So while we await our own fruit supply, we’re going to the market to select some fresh peaches to enjoy in a wonderful peach bread pudding that was created by pudding connoisseurs Alma Gonzales and her son Rey. Sourdough bread takes well to fruit bread puddings and this one is no exception. It’s also rich with buttermilk and cream, golden raisins, and spices. They suggest serving the pudding with a drizzle of whipping cream. Ahhhhhhhh …

PEACH & BUTTERMILK BREAD PUDDING WITH GOLDEN RAISINS

8 cups (1-1/2") stale sourdough bread cubes (with crust left on)

2 cups buttermilk

2 cups heavy cream

2 cups milk

1 cup golden raisins

3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1-1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2-1/2 pounds ripe but firm peaches (about 8), peeled, pitted and sliced 1/8" thick

1 teaspoon butter

6 eggs

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup turbinado or demerara sugar
Heavy whipping cream for drizzling, optional

Arrange a rack in middle of oven and put large baking sheet on rack below it, to catch any drips. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In large bowl, toss together bread, buttermilk, heavy cream, milk, raisins, and nutmeg and set aside to soak for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, toss together 1/4 cup granulated sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon and peaches, to coat; set aside.

Grease 9x13" casserole dish with butter. Whisk together eggs, vanilla, salt, and remaining 1-1/4 cups granulated sugar in medium bowl, then add to the bread mixture. Add macerated peaches and stir well to combine. Transfer to prepared dish and spread out evenly. Sprinkle turbinado sugar over top and bake until cooked through and deep golden brown, covering with a sheet of foil if parts of top get too dark, about 1-1/4 hours. Serve warm or at room temperature. Serve with a drizzle of cream, if desired.
(Recipe by Alma and Rey Gonzales.)

Vegan bourbon peach bread pudding is summer pleasure

Since we’re in a summer fruit frame of mind, we’ll be posting some luscious bread pudding recipes using the best of the summer crop. Here’s a recipe using peaches that I found on a site called LIME.com, “Healthy living with a twist,” where you can get “fresh ideas, videos, and articles on how to live a greener, healthier more balanced life.” This pudding features bourbon, or rum. If you’d prefer, you can substitute a little bit of rum flavoring for the booze.

From time to time we get requests for recipes for vegetarian or vegan bread puddings, and this looks like one of the best, using no animal products at all. It’s vegan, gluten-free, and allergen-free. We’re also going to add a category to our blog sidebar listing Vegetarian/Vegan Bread Puddings. Please note: a listing or mention of a particular product does not indicate our endorsement of that product; it's simply information about where you might find a particular product. Enjoy!!

VEGAN BOURBON PEACH BREAD PUDDING
(Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten-Free, and Allergen-free)

1/4 cup organic canola oil (Spectrum)
1 cup organic brown sugar
3 cups non-dairy milk, (rice milk, soy milk, or oat milk)
1 vanilla bean
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 heaping cups peaches, fresh or frozen, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
3 tablespoons bourbon (all distilled alcohol is gluten-free, but if you'd rather not use bourbon, you can substitute rum)
5 cups gluten-free bread cut into 1/2-inch cubes (gluten-free bread really lends itself to bread pudding, try Ener-G or Food For Life; this recipe can also be made with regular day-old French bread, if you prefer)
3 tablespoons flax seed meal combined with 1/2 cup hot water ("flax eggs")
1/3 to 1/2 cup turbinado sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine canola oil with brown sugar in a heavy pan, and cook, stirring, over low heat about 3 minutes. Add non-dairy milk, stirring well to combine. Using a small sharp knife, split the vanilla bean lengthwise, and scrape out the seeds (they look like a black paste). Whisk the seeds into the pan. Add lemon juice, lemon zest, and cinnamon. Whisk well. Add peaches, bring to a simmer and cook 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Add bourbon. Pour over bread cubes and let soak 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add "flax eggs" to bread mixture, stirring well to combine. Pour into a greased 9"x9" or 8"x11" pan, at least 2 1/2" deep. Combine turbinado sugar with cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over top. Bake 1 hour until a caramelized golden brown on top. Allow to set for 1 hour before serving. Makes 6 servings.
(Posted on LIME.com by Cybele Pascal, 2/6/07)

Peach bread pudding is summer favorite

We can’t get enough of the fresh fruits of summer. And even though it’s too early yet to enjoy our own home-grown garden varieties, we’ve been indulging our fancies in the produce section of the supermarket, one of our very favorite spots. Last week it was brimming with rows of colorful offerings, from whole watermelons, to rich red strawberries, to shiny blackberries. The peaches looked especially rosy and inviting too, coming from hotter climates than our New England shoreline.

It will be a few months before our own peach tree bears anything remotely worth sampling (they’re about the size of golf balls at the moment) so we picked up some market-variety fresh peaches. They looked good too, not like the ‘rocks’ you sometimes buy and bring home, only to get mushy as they ripen.

We sliced some up for breakfast. But before they got too ripe, we decided to combine them with some bread slices that were screaming, “Make us into bread pudding.” Bread does that in my kitchen. In a pinch you could also use frozen peaches, but thaw them first and add a little sugar. We thank our friends Anne and Moe from the CookbooksEtCetera cookbook collector’s group on the Web for contributing this recipe.

PEACH BREAD PUDDING

2 eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk, scalded

1-1/4 cups water

4 thick slices buttered bread, cubed

1-1/4 cups ripe fresh peaches, peeled, sliced & sugared

Beat eggs with sugar, flavorings, and salt. Combine the milk and water; beat into the egg mixture. In a greased 1-1/2-quart casserole, layer the bread, milk mixture, and peaches until all ingredients are used. Set casserole in a pan of hot water and bake at 350 degrees F. for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Serves 6.