Bread pudding is a bread-based dessert popular in many countries' cuisines. It's origin is British. It is made with stale bread and milk or cream, eggs, and a form of fat such as oil, butter or suet.
Bread pudding can be made either sweet or savory. This recipe is for a savory bread pudding. It was sent to me by Judith P. The recipe was one of the winners of our Thanksgiving Recipe Xchange.
The Bread Pudding Connection
Judith lives and runs a Bed and Breakfast in Exeter, about 3-½ hours west of London, England. Exeter began as settlements on a dry ridge ending in a spur overlooking a navigable river teeming with fish, with fertile land nearby.
Exeter is also home to the third oldest Synagogue in the United Kingdom. Originally built as a Sephardi synagogue for Dutch Jews trading in Exeter, it is now a synagogue of the Ashkenazi rite.
When Judith sent me her recipe, she asked me if I would you consider a Thanksgiving recipe with shredded vegetable suet?
Don't Suet the Small Stuff
I have to admit that I had never heard the term "suet" and thought that maybe it was a misspelling. I rechecked and finally had to rely on my friend Google for assistance.
Me: "Google, show me recipes with suet?"
Google: "In order to sweat onions ..."
Me: "Google, stop. Google, what is the definition of S-U-E-T."
Google: "Suet is the hard white fat on the kidneys and loins of cattle, sheep, and other animals, used to make foods including puddings, pastry, and mincemeat."
Really? Maybe we were finally getting somewhere. But where in the world can I buy suet? And can I find kosher suet?
Me: "Google, find suet near me."
Google: "Sweat Spa, Hot Yoga, Sweat Studio ...."
So much for artificial intelligence! Or maybe I should have paid better attention to Judith. She said she makes her bread pudding using "vegetable suet."
After numerous searches, I could only find one source, Atora shredded vegetable suet.
I reached back out to Judith and asked her if she had ever heard of this brand. She said "Yes, that's what I use," and provided me the picture above.
After reading the ingredients, I asked her if this was the same as the vegetable shortening I remember from my childhood, called Crisco (it's still made today). Judith was familiar with it and said it would work just as well. She did say that it is much better to freeze the shortening and then shred it to get the best results. Of course. That's the key to getting flaky pie crusts too.
A Little Piece of Heaven
Judith told me that this "little piece of heaven" (her bread pudding) is what her family enjoys on the holidays. At Thanksgiving, "it is eaten with plenty of gravy and cranberry sauce."
The bread pudding recipe only contains 5 ingredients. Those include flour, suet (vegetable shortening), margarine, salt and cold water. The best part is that it only takes 10 minutes to prepare and another 30 minutes to bake.
I hope you'll give this quick and easy British recipe from Judith a try. And if you're ever in Exeter, UK, make sure to ring up her B&B.
Bread Pudding Recipe
Bread Pudding (savory)
DESCRIPTION
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups self-rising flour
- ½ cup shredded vegetable suet (or freeze and shred Crisco)
- ½ cup margarine
- 1 pinch salt (horseradish or mustard (optional))
- 8 Tbsp. cold water (to mix)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (convection bake)
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, suet, margarine, and salt. Add 4 Tbsp. of cold water and mix. Slowly add 1 Tbsp. of cold water at a time while kneading until you reach a crumbly mixture. (It should be similar to that of scones or challah, but denser and heavier than bread).
- In a baking pan, spread the mixture evenly. Using a knife, make some grooves into the mixture for decoration. Bake in oven for 30 minutes.
- Remove and cut into squares. Serve as a side to any main dish - turkey, roast beef, chicken, etc.
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