After 7 test loaves of my sourdough pumpkin milk bread, it would be sacrilegious not to make pumpkin bread pudding with all the leftovers. And if you’ve been around here long enough, you know I can’t stop at a basic bread pudding – we’re talking pumpkin butter custard, buttery pumpkin spice streusel, vanilla ice cream, drizzled with homemade miso caramel. Yup 🤌
The result ☝️ warm, soft, and custardy in the middle, with a crisp, buttery streusel topping and plenty of pumpkin spice flavor. And the sweet-salty miso caramel melting into the ice cream? Oh em gee, that seals the deal.
Key ingredients
- The bread – like I said I had a bunch of leftover pumpkin milk bread and pumpkin dinner rolls that I ended up using to test this recipe so my base already started out with lots of flavor. But if you don’t have pumpkin bread, you can use plain milk bread or brioche, I would add an extra teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice to the custard though for more flavor.
- Pumpkin puree – you gotta have real pumpkin in a pumpkin bread pudding.
- Pumpkin pie spice – this is your flavor bomb, it’s in the bread (if you’re using homemade pumpkin milk bread), it’s in the custard and it’s in the streusel! I use my own mix of spices but storebought works just fine.
You really have to have miso caramel for this bread pudding. That umami from the miso pairs so well with pumpkin, it’s like peanut butter and jam. I used Marukome premium white miso paste which has 290 mg of sodium per tablespoon so I can really amp up the miso flavor in this caramel without making it too salty.
So look at the label when you buy miso, try to find one with lower sodium content. But even if you have something saltier, I think it will still work out with all the other sweet elements. And of course, if you’re looking for a shortcut, a salted caramel sauce will make a good substitute.
Corn syrup is also essential to the caramel. It makes this recipe foolproof by keeping the sugar from crystalizing. I have made caramel without corn syrup before, and while it can work, it’s just so easy for the caramel to crystalize and then it’s all ruined and you’ll be disappointed!
Let’s make it
1. Dry the bread
I’ve made bread pudding with toasted and untoasted bread and found that toasting the bread in the oven and drying them out thoroughly allows them to soak up more custard, giving the bread pudding a moist custardy texture without being mushy.
2. Make pumpkin butter
My pumpkin butter is simply a mixture of pumpkin puree, brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice, reduced on the stove top for 5 -7 mins. This does 2 things: bloom the spices releasing their flavors and reduce water in the pumpkin puree concentrating the pumpkin flavor.
3. Prepare the custard
I like to beat the eggs with the other ingredients first until thoroughly combined before adding in the half and half. Otherwise it’s hard to beat when the mixture is too liquidy.
4. Soak the bread
I recommend letting the bread cubes soak up the custard for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator. You are also more than welcome to let them soak overnight if preparing ahead of time. Make sure to mix it once or twice during this process to ensure even soaking.
5. Make the streusel
I like freezing the streusel at least 15-30 mins just before you are ready to assemble and bake the bread pudding to help it form big clumps that will stay crunchy when baked. If the streusel freezes into a big lump, just break it up with your fingers.
6. Assemble and bake
Assembling this one is simpler than my peach cobbler bread pudding (no fruits to layer!) you can simply spread the whole bread pudding mixture into your pan and top with streusel. Bake until the center is just slightly jiggly, once it cools down and sets, it won’t be jiggly anymore. You don’t want to overbake the bread pudding risking it to dry out.
7. Make miso caramel
I have a full step-by-step recipe for miso caramel on my other blog, but you are essentially caramelizing the sugar with corn syrup and a little bit of water, then stir in butter, followed by cream and miso, and flavoring it with a splash of vanilla only at the end.
Serve warm with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream and plenty of miso caramel!
Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Miso Caramel
Equipment
- 10” square baking pan
Ingredients
Pumpkin butter
- 200 grams pumpkin puree
- 50 grams brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Bread pudding
- 454 grams leftover sourdough pumpkin milk bread
- 5 large eggs
- 150 grams brown sugar
- Couple pinches of kosher salt
- 10 grams pure vanilla extract
- All of the pumpkin butter
- 480 grams half & half
Streusel
- 100 grams granulated sugar
- 64 grams all-purpose flour
- Couple pinches of kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 57 grams unsalted butter cold & cubed
Miso caramel
- 150 grams granulated sugar
- 40 grams corn syrup
- 30 grams water
- 57 grams unsalted butter
- 60 grams heavy whipping cream
- 25 grams white miso paste
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Dry the bread – Preheat the oven to the lowest heat setting, for my oven it was 170°F (80°C). Cut leftover milk bread into 1” cubes, spread them on a large baking sheet and toast for 1 hour. Turn off the oven, remove the bread cubes and allow them to cool completely, approximately 30 minutes to 1 hour.454 grams leftover sourdough pumpkin milk bread
- Make pumpkin butter – While the bread is toasting, cook the pumpkin with brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice in a small sauce pan over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens, about 5 – 7 minutes. Set aside to cool.200 grams pumpkin puree, 50 grams brown sugar, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- Prepare the custard – Beat together eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, salt and cooled pumpkin butter in a large mixing bowl until thoroughly combined. Then stir in the half and half.5 large eggs, 150 grams brown sugar, Couple pinches of kosher salt, 10 grams pure vanilla extract, All of the pumpkin butter, 480 grams half & half
- Soak the bread – Toss cooled dry bread cubes in the custard mixture evenly and let them soak for at least 2 hours and up to overnight in the refrigerator. Turn the mixture once or twice to make sure it’s soaking evenly.
- Make the streusel – Whisk together sugar, flour, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a small mixing bowl. Add cold cubed butter pieces to it and press them into the flour mixture with the tips of your fingers until the mixture resembles wet sand. Freeze (or refrigerate) until ready to use.100 grams granulated sugar, 64 grams all-purpose flour, Couple pinches of kosher salt, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, 57 grams unsalted butter
- Preheat the oven – Set the oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F (180°C).
- Bake – Butter a 10” square baking pan generously. Add pumpkin bread pudding mixture to the pan, top with streusel and bake in the preheated oven for 45 – 50 minutes, until the center is only slightly jiggly. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly to set.
- Make miso caramel – While the bread pudding is baking, make the miso caramel. Heat granulated sugar, corn syrup and water in a heavy bottom stainless steel pan over medium heat without stirring. You can swirl the pan occasionally to ensure all the sugar melts and heats evenly. When the liquid turns amber, take it off the heat. Immediately add the butter to it and stir, the mixture will bubble rapidly, keep whisking until smooth. Then stir in cream and miso paste, the mixture will bubble again, just keep whisking until smooth. Finally, stir in the vanilla last. Transfer to a jar.150 grams granulated sugar, 40 grams corn syrup, 30 grams water, 57 grams unsalted butter, 60 grams heavy whipping cream, 25 grams white miso paste, ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Serve – Serve your pumpkin bread pudding warm with vanilla ice cream and a generous spoon of miso caramel drizzled on top.
Notes
- Pan size: you can use a 9” square baking pan. For the smaller pan size, the bread pudding will fill it all the way up to the rim. I recommend placing the pan on top of a baking sheet before you put it into the oven in case anything spills over during baking. You’ll also need to increase baking time by 5 mins to account for the thicker layer of bread pudding.
- Storage: you can keep bread pudding at room temperature overnight and up to 2 days, but it is best to store leftovers in the refrigerator, it should last up to a week. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months.
- Miso caramel: the recipe makes about a cup of miso caramel, you probably won’t use it all. Just store it in a jar, and refrigerate for up to 1 month.
- Nutrition assumes 1 tablespoon of miso caramel per serving and does not include the ice cream.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
