Who can resist this sinfully delicious dessert of banana bread pudding topped with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce from TGI Friday's? Eat in moderation, though, or you'll pack on the pounds. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

Your dream of becoming an entrepreneur can become a reality if you have a passion for making bread puddings. At a time when food budgeting is more challenging than before, you can use leftover bread to make that perfect sweet ending to die for. What is it about bread pudding that makes it so enticing for tasters of all ages?

The history of bread pudding dates back to the 1800s in England. Bread pudding, first known as a 'poor man's pudding', is as old-fashioned as making bread. The practice started with households not wanting to throw out leftover or stale bread and so the bread was used in a number of ways, including making breadcrumbs used in stuffing and sprinkled over baked casseroles and used to make the family favourite, bread pudding.

You can jazz up this sweet treat by making Chocolate Bread Pudding, as whipped up by Pastry Passions. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

Gourmet

The Romans loved bread pudding next to omelettes. History shows bread pudding prepared in many forms all over the world as a simple and economical dessert. In earlier years, it was considered a food for invalids and convalescents because of the soft texture which made it easy to eat.

However, with the exciting treatments to bread pudding, it is now considered a gourmet product. Contemporary chefs and bread pudding lovers have found new ways to 'fancy' up and recreate a dish once associated with poverty.

Regions and religion

The influence of regions and religion will change the end product of the old-fashioned bread pudding. In Melbourne, though there have been attempts to preserve the 19th-century traditional pudding, the recipe was modified as tastes change and ingredients become unavailable. Some families use leftover challah, producing a richer dish. Challah, part of the Jewish cuisine, is a plaited egg-bread eaten on Sabbath, rich but free from dairy products.

This means that the whole dish is richer and messier. Gillian Polack (www.foodpast.com/melbourne-bread-and-butter-pudding) gives straightforward tips on making bread pudding, Melbourne style.

1. Slice leftover challah and place in a dish, sprinkling raisins generously through the layered bread.

2. Add the same sort of custard as normal bread and butter pudding. The only differences are that the sugar can be reduced a little and you add two pinches of cinnamon.

3. Sprinkle nutmeg and cinnamon on top of the pudding, then bake.

4. Serve with rich cream and a big pot of tea mid-afternoon on a really lazy Sunday.

South Africa has adopted bread pudding as one of its traditional dishes with several variations. An interesting one has a British flare with apricots. Another delightful bread pudding is a Cape-Malay version and a superb Afrikaner pudding.

American-style

American-style bread pudding takes a little from everyone and moves it up a notch. A novel practice is to throw any available cake or bread-like material that is on hand into the recipe. Adding wine or rum into the sauce to pour over the pudding is worthy as is adding white sultanas (soaked in brandy for a few days), dried blueberries and glazed diced pecans into the topping. Rose water is added as homage to past and ancient recipes. The American bread pudding is not a frugal dessert (www.karenfreberg.com/FabBreadPudding.htm).

Transform

How do you make a humble dessert decadent? According to Joanne Chang, chef at Flour's Bakery and Cafe in Boston and writing in Fine Cooking, "It is the seemingly endless variations that are part of the fun of making bread pudding. With one basic recipe, you can make it tasty for family or jazz it up for your guests."

Equipment

Be sure that you have the right equipment before you start the job:

9x13 baking dish

3-quart saucepan

Strainer

Whisk

2 heatproof bowls

Spatula

Chang offers a step-by-step guide to making bread pudding. She adds that an important factor in making irresistible bread pudding is planning, as bread has to be presoaked before baking and other ingredients have to be prepared to make the actual preparation of the dish minimal.

Your choice of bread: Chang suggests use of an airy, chewy French-style white bread to give the bread pudding a little more texture. Other recommended choices of bread include challah and croissant. Regardless of which bread you use, the bread should be older than fresh. The staler bread will better absorb the custard base for more flavour. It is best to cut the bread in one-inch cubes and leave uncovered so that it gets extra dry.

Custard base: Chang uses a basic recipe of eggs, sugar and half-and-half. Evaporated milk could be substituted for the half-and-half to give the same richness. It is best to heat the milk and mix it into the eggs and sugar to ensure that the final base is thoroughly combined and the sugar totally dissolved. Heating also allows any flavours used to be steeped into the custard base.

Day old: Soak the bread pudding a day before it is baked. This allows the custard to thoroughly soak into the bread, improving the texture and flavour.

Moderate temperatures: Bake at moderate temperature - 325 °F. The bread takes a good time to bake, so the pudding could be in the oven for two hours. To test if pudding is baked, poke a hole in the centre with a knife. If liquid custard seeps, you should bake for another 10 minutes then check again.

Flavours: With experimentation, you can concoct your own flavours. Chang offers some suggestions:

Almond - 1 1/2 tsp. almond extract to the strained extract.

Chocolate - 2 cups chopped bittersweet chocolate to hot milk. Whisk to melt.

Ginger - 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh ginger to milk before heating. Allow to steep for 10 minutes after heating and then add eggs.

Variety of add-ins:

Just before baking, gently fold in add-in of your choice. Be careful not to choose more than two, as this can overwhelm the velvety custard.

Banana bread pudding: 3 ripe bananas, thinly sliced

Coconut bread pudding: 1 1/2 cups toasted, sweetened, shredded coconut.

Pineapple bread pudding: 1 1/4 cups of finely chopped pineapple.

Otaheite apple bread pudding: 1 1/2 cup chopped otaheite apples cooked in syrup.

To serve

Bread pudding is best served warm with a whipped cream or sauce of your choice. Rum sauce is always popular.

Pineapple bread pudding with rum sauce

1 loaf French bread, torn into chunks

1 qt evaporated milk

2 cups sugar

2 tbsps vanilla

3 eggs

1 cup pineapple, diced

1/2 cup raisins

3 tbsps butter, melted

Method:

Soak bread in milk for 30 minutes. Mix sugar, eggs, vanilla and pineapple and raisins. Spread butter in a 13x9x2-inch pan. Add bread mixture. Bake at 350 °F for about 30 minutes.

RUM SAUCE

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

Rum to taste (about 3 tbsps)

Method:

Cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla. Slowly stir in 1 egg, then add rum. Stir over low heat for 5 minutes. Serve warm over individual pudding servings. (Cooks.com)

Whether you are making bread pudding for business or for treating your family and friends, the aim should always to take it up a notch and create a delectable product that will have your customers or friends asking for more.

Bread pudding is still a Jamaican favourite.

Heather Little-White, PhD, is a nutrition and lifestyle consultant in the Corporate Area. Send comments to editor@gleanerjm.com or fax 922-6223.