Melbourne Bread and Butter Pudding
The Melbourne version of bread and butter pudding is about the same age as yesterday’s. The differences in ingredients are all due to religious differences - the bread used pushed the pudding in a particular direction and the ingredients of the bread and butter pudding were modified to match this. It’s a really cool example of a simple difference creating a dish that tastes quite distinct.
Both family recipes are attested to the nineteenth century though they were preserved orally, which means that as tastes and availability of ingredients change, the recipe may have been modified. Today’s version is from my rather Jewish family (is it possible to be ‘rather Jewish?). The big difference between the Palmer pud and the Polack pud is that until recently the Polacks made our pudding on Sunday using leftover challah. This means that the whole dish is richer and messier. Challah is a plaited egg-bread eaten on Sabbath - dairy free but quite rich.
Slice leftover challah and place in a dish, sprinkling raisins generously through the layered bread. 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. Sprinkle nutmeg and cinnamon on top of the pudding then bake. Serve with rich cream and a big pot of tea mid-afternoon on a really lazy Sunday.
December 3rd, 2007 at 2:57 am
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