My savoury bread and butter pudding starring Little Big Dairy

My savoury bread and butter pudding starring Little Big Dairy

I’ve combined two great loves of my life in this recipe: bread and butter pudding and croque monsieur. Here they come together with a helping hand from Little Big Dairy. This recipe is proof that you can still make epic “sandwiches” out of leftover bread—you just need to think about them a bit differently.
If making the sandwiches feels too much like prepping for a school lunch box, sometimes I just rip up the bread into chunks, throw them in the dish with chopped ham and grated cheese, then cover it all with the custard. The savory custard is a good amount for a 35cm x 22cm x 10cm tray with a capacity of 3.5L. The real goal is to make sure your custard almost covers your sandwiches. I hope you enjoy.

Serves 4-6 (it's rich!)

  • Ingredients

    8 slices of sourdough bread (roughly)

    50g (or so) butter, softened

    Dijon mustard to your liking (1-2 tbs)

    130g Gruyère cheese

    100g ham

    500ml (2 cups) milk

    250ml (1 cup) pure cream

    5 eggs, lightly whisked

    2 spring onions, finely sliced

    Salt & pepper

  • Method

    To start, we're going to make ham and cheese sandwiches – easy! Butter one slice of bread and spread Dijon mustard on the other side. Lay a slice of ham over one slice, and top with a small handful of cheese. Sandwich with the other side and set aside. Repeat until you have four - five sandwiches (see what fits your casserole dish), then cut the sandwiches in half.

    Next, butter a casserole dish and arrange the sandwiches in the dish. In a bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, cream, and salt and pepper. Pour the mixture over the sandwiches and squish down with your hands. Sprinkle the chopped spring onion over the top. Let the bread soak up the custard for about 30 minutes.

    Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 190°C (170°C for a fan-forced oven). Cover the pudding with foil and place it into a deeper tray. Fill the larger tray with boiling water to help the custard cook evenly. Bake for 30-40 minutes (your type of bread will determine this – a softer bread will take a shorter amount of time), then remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes for a golden crust and a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave the pudding to stand for 5 minutes before serving.

    Serve with a generous blob of mustard and a green leafsalad. Enjoy your delicious ham and cheese sandwich pudding!

You can use any bread you like here. I love a sourdough with a golden, chewy crust and a custard-like interior texture, but simple supermarket bread works wonderfully too. A brioche loaf adds extra butteriness. Regardless of the type, you want the bread to be stale. Don’t overthink the placement of the sandwiches too much; if you need to use fewer or more sandwiches due to the size of your dish, just adjust accordingly. It all depends on the bread you use. The main thing is not to overcrowd them, giving the custard room to set.

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