Tsoureki bread pudding

Tsoureki bread pudding

A simple and slightly sweet tsoureki bread pudding served with a rich sauce

Greek Pascha is the holiday which keeps on giving…leftovers, that is.  One of the things that our Easter season seems to leave us with plenty of is tsoureki. We are thrilled because that means we can make recipes like our tsoureki bread pudding.  It seems that most Greek homes bake a huge number of these sweet loaves during this holiday season, many of which are then gifted to family and friends.  If you are Greek however, you usually end up receiving as many tsourekia as you give away so you end up breaking even!  Good problems to have!

Tsoureki bread pudding

But so many loaves of delicious Easter bread means that it is time to get creative, and to hopefully do so simply and easily.

Ways to use your leftover tsoureki:

  • The easiest thing to do of course is to wrap your excess tsourekia tightly in plastic wrap, place them in a freezer bag and freeze them for when the urge hits.
  • Another option, equally simple but slightly more time consuming, is to cut your tsoureki into biscotti-like pieces and bake them at a low temperature, for a long time.  This will draw out the excess moisture and leave you with a crunchy cookie, perfect for dunking into your Greek coffee.   Kept in a sealed container, tsoureki prepared this way will keep for a very long time (but you’ll never really know how long, because they won’t last long enough for you to find out).
  • Then of course, there is the delicious tsoureki French toast. We were so pleased to see how much joy this recipe brought to people when we first posted it last year.  Yeah!  It is truly delicious.
  • If you want to make a somewhat fancier tsoureki French toast, how about this version made with bananas and Nutella. Decadent!
  • One of our most popular recipes for leftover tsoureki is a Mia Kouppa original, and truly and incredible recipe (we’re so proud of this one): tsoureki and feta grilled cheese. We can’t even begin to tell you how amazing this recipe is…trust us, it’s good enough to warrant baking up a fresh batch of tsourekia just to make the grilled cheese!

We’ve already given you some great options for tsourekia which you have left over, and now…but there’s more!  Here we show you how to use your tsoureki to make a bread pudding, and we really think you should!

Helpful hints

What kind of bread is best for bread pudding?

Bread puddings are usually best made with bread which had gone just a little bit stale. That’s because the drier the crumb, the easier it is for the bread to soak up the egg and milk mixture without having it dissolve into mush.  So, for this recipe choose a tsoureki that is either a little stale or select one from your pile which naturally has a drier and denser consistency.

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How to make tsoureki

Your bread pudding will only be as good as the tsoureki you use.  Although we have rarely met a tsoureki we didn’t like, the fact is that some loaves are more flavourful than others (acknowledging of course, that different people have different tastes).  For us, the perfect tsoureki has both masticha and mahlepi in the dough. These are unique flavours, which also come with beautiful aromas which are most evident when used in baking. Your entire home will fill with the sweet smells of our childhood. If you are looking for a tsoureki recipe, you can follow the link to ours by clicking here.  Otherwise, choose from what you have on hand or refer to your own favourite recipe.

How to toast your tsoureki for the bread pudding

When you toast your cubes of tsoureki you must be careful that they do not burn.  You will notice that on your baking sheet you will have several crumbs, and due to their small size, these will most definitely burn.  For this reason, do not transfer the toasted tsoureki into the baking pan by simply tilting your baking sheet and pouring it all in; you will add the crumbs this way. Instead, use your fingers to pick up the cubes of toasted tsoureki and transfer them that way.  This is a good way to make sure you don’t include any burnt pieces, and it’s also a good way to easily pop a few pieces into your mouth…to test for deliciousness.

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Milk versus cream in the tsoureki bread pudding

You can substitute the milk used in this recipe for heavy cream, either in the bread pudding itself, the sauce, or both.  This will turn a rich dish into something decadent. We are all for decadent.  However, we are also into easy, and we’re going to assume that most people are like us; we always have milk in our refrigerators, but cream only occasionally.

What is Metaxa?

The sauce uses just a touch of Metaxa, a Greek spirit which is simply perfect.  A small amount gives a lovely flavour and aroma to your sauce, making this bread pudding that much more special.  If you don’t have Metaxa, or would prefer not to use alcohol, you can substitute it for orange juice.

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How to bake your tsoureki bread pudding

We used a 9 x 12 inch baking pan to make this bread pudding, but you can choose to use a smaller pan in order to end up with a higher pudding.  In choosing your pan just be sure that it is large enough to accommodate all of your ingredients.  The total cooking time should not change too much; in order to check for doneness simply insert a toothpick into the center of the bread pudding and it should come out clean.

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When to serve tsoureki bread pudding

Tsoureki bread pudding is great as a dessert, part of a brunch buffet or as a sweet breakfast.  In fact, we think it may be equally good for lunch, dinner or a midnight snack. We’ll look into that…and get back to you. 🙂

Tsoureki bread pudding
Tsoureki bread pudding

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Tsoureki bread pudding

Tsoureki bread pudding

A simple and slightly sweet bread pudding served with a rich sauce
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American, Greek
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 1227kcal
Author: Mia Kouppa

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 8 cups tsoureki, cut into bite sized cubes
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 ½ cups milk
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • small amount of butter for greasing the pan

For the sauce:

  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup icing sugar
  • 1 tbsp Metaxa (brandy) optional

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Spread your cubed tsoureki onto 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Toast them in the oven for 10 minutes, stirring mid-way through and being careful not to burn your bread
    8 cups tsoureki, cut into bite sized cubes
  • Remove the tsoureki from the oven and transfer the toasted cubes into a greased baking pan.
    small amount of butter for greasing the pan
  • In another bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla. Pour this evenly over the tsoureki. Cover your baking pan with plastic wrap, allowing it to lay directly onto the tsoureki. Place in the refrigerator for at least an hour, or overnight.
    4 large eggs, 2 ½ cups milk, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Remove the plastic wrap from your baking pan and bake your bread pudding in the middle rack of your oven for approximately 45 minutes. If the top begins to brown before your bread pudding is done, simply cover it loosely with tin foil.
  • Meanwhile, approximately 5 - 10 minutes before your bread pudding is due to come out of the oven, prepare your sauce.
  • Melt the butter and then combine it with the milk. Stir well. Add the icing sugar and Metaxa and whisk well until the sauce is smooth and uniform. It will be rather thin.
    2 tbsp unsalted butter, 1/4 cup milk, 1/2 cup icing sugar, 1 tbsp Metaxa (brandy)
  • Serve your bread pudding warm, drizzle each portion with a little bit, or a lot, of the sauce.
  • Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 1227kcal | Carbohydrates: 196g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 303mg | Sodium: 1354mg | Potassium: 604mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 43g | Vitamin A: 1171IU | Calcium: 473mg | Iron: 11mg

Thanks for sharing!

9 Comments

  1. Love this simple yet delicious pudding !

  2. eliospapa89 says:

    Excellent! I just posted a recipe like this as well a few days ago using tsoureki. Makes an amazing bread pudding.

    1. miakouppa says:

      Tsoureki really does make a great base for many, many things 🙂 Just checked out your recipe…you seem to put dried fruit in your tsoureki? We’ve never heard of that but it sounds delicious. What part of Greece is that from?

      1. eliospapa89 says:

        Idk if it’s from a certain part of Greece, but we put it in for taste, especially dried apricots

      2. miakouppa says:

        Sounds delicious!

  3. Rose Martine says:

    You are AMAZING! Thank you thank you thank you so much for this. I was considering doing the same thing and you’ve just made the task a lot less daunting.

    1. miakouppa says:

      We are so happy to hear that Rose! We do hope that you enjoy the recipe as much as we do.

  4. Christy Vavloukis says:

    Looks delicious but I can’t find the actual recipe with ingredients, measurements, and method. I have reloaded the page and tried to click on Jump to Recipe. Please help, I have 3 loaves of tsoureki to deal with!

    1. miakouppa says:

      Oh boy! We have been updating our recipe and there have been a few hiccups. All should be fine now. Can you give it another try? Let us know if you still have issues. Thanks! xoxo Helen & Billie

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