Bread pudding is everywhere.
There it is in a piping hot pan at the end of the hot lunch buffet at LeBlanc’s. Walk-On’s has a Krispy Kreme version of it (no ambulance included). Even in its first days, Twitter’s curated food handle featured Chef Mario Batali making … bread pudding.
The bread-based dessert, called Wet Nelly in Liverpool, is popular across the world. In Louisiana, there is no escaping it, either.
“Everyone has it on their menu in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Lafayette,” Beausoleil executive chef and co-owner Nathan Gresham says. “[If you’re a restaurant in this area,] you better have it.”
Gresham sells more bread pudding than any other dessert the restaurant features. A Louisville, Mississippi, native who has also worked in Colorado, Gresham says he had never seen love of the dessert more than when he moved to Louisiana.
At Beausoleil, Gresham uses a mixture of stale and fresh bread that’s marinated for 24 hours. He makes custard with egg, milk and sugar, adds some cinnamon and white chocolate to the mix, then bakes the dish at 350 degrees. It comes out not too moist and not too dry, but in between the two, and topped with caramel glaze.
The recipe was something he learned while attending Louisiana Culinary Institute. He says it wasn’t an easy dish to master.
“When we first opened, it took us a while to figure our bread pudding out,” he says. “It took about a year to get down. We tried different temperatures and techniques. Once we got it right, we’ve made it the same for four years.”
Chef Kelley McCann of Galatoire’s Bistro says he’s seen plenty of bread puddings get thrown out, too.
“There are so many things that come into play,” McCann says. “The measurements have to be exact. You have to rotate them at the right times.”
He says that the Perkins Road restaurant’s New Orleans predecessor put it on the menu 15 years ago because it’s a Crescent City staple.
“You had families making it for years and years [so] it eventually became part of our culture, something we couldn’t ignore,” he says.
It doesn’t hurt that it’s a cost-effective dish for the bistro, as well.
“Our policy is have bread and water at the table within 30 seconds of seating,” he says. “I receive bread five times a week. You always have it left over. Once it’s past two days, past its prime, you can use it for something that’s different and delicious.”
I approached talking to both chefs with cynicism about the subject. I often grimace while looking at dessert menus at local restaurants. There it is, always staring at me—another dense, heavy bread pudding. Even more aggravating to me is that they both said its popularity won’t fade.
Then, Gresham convinced me.
I could hear him leaning over his cell phone with a “Hey man, look” attitude.
“I’ve had bad bread pudding,” he says. “But once I try a good bread pudding, it hits you in the soul.”
Matthew Sigur writes about food for 225 Dine. Sign up for our weekly 225 Dine newsletter or read about the latest restaurant news at 225batonrouge.com/food.
