Artichoke Bread Pudding
Saturday, May 28, 2011 at 8:38AM 
Before we moved ourselves here to the Midwest, we lived in a little town on the Central Coast of California, just South of Santa Cruz. One of our favorite weekend things to do was to drive up the coast to Pescadero and stop in at Arcangeli’s Grocery for their still-warm-out-of-the-oven artichoke garlic bread, and eat the entire loaf on our drive back down the coast . Words cannot describe how good this stuff is, but I will tell you that we have had it shipped here and still talk about it as though it was a member of the family left behind in the move.
All that to say that when I came across this recipe for asparagus bread pudding, yes, you read that right, asparagus bread pudding, it sounded lovely and I was drawn to make it immediately. But as I was saving the recipe to my computer, I accidentally typed artichoke bread pudding, which, upon reflection, had to have been my subconscious prodding me to change course.
It didn’t take much prodding, I’ll tell you. As soon as I saw what I had typed, my mind conjured up images of that warm artichoke bread, fragrant with garlic and herbs, and I tucked my asparagus away for another meal, grabbed some artichoke hearts and got this done.
So glad I did that. Oh my ever lovin’ goodness, was this ever incredible…thick bread puffed with milk and eggs, melted fontina, romano and asiago cheeses, fresh herbs, garlic, and, of course, those lovely artichoke hearts nestled in there. I guess that’s about all I have to say about this, except perhaps you should consider making it. Soon.
Artichoke Bread Pudding
Click here for a printable recipe
Recipe adapted from the San Francisco Chronicle
12 to 16 thick slices of dry bread
2 1/2 to 3 cups milk
2 1/2 cups of canned or frozen artichoke hearts, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, sliced (if using artichokes)
5 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup chopped mixed fresh herbs (such as chives, parsley and tarragon; or sage, thyme and marjoram)
1/4 cup freshly grated Romano cheese
4 ounces fontina cheese, large grates
4 ounces asiago cheese, large grates
1 tablespoon butter, cut into small bits
INSTRUCTIONS: Place the bread in a single layer in a shallow dish. Pour 2 1/2 cups milk over the top. Let soak until the bread has absorbed the milk and becomes soft, about 30 minutes. Press the bread slices to extract the milk. Measure the milk; you should have 1/2 cup. If not, add milk to make 1/2 cup. Set aside.
Heat a small amount of olive oil or butter in a small skillet and saute the sliced garlic until soft and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Do not let it brown. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 3-quart mold - a souffle dish works well. Beat together the eggs, salt, pepper and the 1/2 cup milk until well blended.
Set aside a few of the artichoke slices to use for the top. Layer one-third of the bread in the prepared dish. Top the bread layer with half of the remaining artichoke slices, sprinkle with the sliced garlic and then half of the mixed herbs, and sprinkle one-third of each of the cheeses over that. Repeat the layers, using half of the remaining bread, all of the remaining artichokes and herbs, and half of the remaining cheese. Arrange the remaining bread on top, strew the remaining cheese over it, and garnish with the reserved artichoke slices. Pour the milk-egg mixture over all, then dot with the butter.
Bake until the top is crusty brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.
Serves 6 to 8
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Reader Comments (22)
This looks amazing! I can't wait to try it.
Ummmm...how dare you?! Five or six of my favorite things in my very favorite thing: bread pudding!! You'll be hearing from me...
Patrice, this is dangerous! I'm an artichoke freak! Oh finally made your almond meal chicken it was so good but didn't look at all as pretty as yours, even the husband loved it, and he claimes he dosen't like nuts when cooked! lol
Patrice, even if I'm forty five & married with three great children you need to adopt me !!! Just stumbled across your site it's great . You make family & cooking look simple & relaxing . Cant wait to start trying your recipes !
Well, thanks, Kristin. I'll give that some thought :) Hope you enjoy the recipes; I'd love to hear back from you!
looks delicious!!! What a show stopper! May I ask what type of bread you used?
I just used a rustic peasant-type baguette (not a long, thin one). I sliced it fairly thick and removed the crusts. Any type of bread would would work here as long as it wasn't too soft. Mine was pretty dried out so it really soaked up the custard mixture.
That pudding is original and looks really scrumptious!
Cheers,
Rosa
This is the first time I've seen your blog, and this recipe was linked by baking bites.... I'm so glad she posted a link to your blog, as this looks amaing! I'm in the midst of writing a grocery list and needless to say, these ingrediants were quickly added! I'm so excited, this looks amaing, and I can honestly say in one recipe, I have become a faithful follower of your blog!
Welcome, Lauren! Love to have you come back and visit often. Thanks for letting us know and enjoy the artichoke bread pudding!
what a great twist on a classic! mmmm!
An artichoke bread pudding sounds so good!
I made this for dinner recently and it was AMAZING. We all agreed this recipe is a keeper!
This looks fantastic, I really hope that it will work with gluten free bread too. Thanks.
I think this would work just fine with a gluten-free bread. It might break down a little quicker as it bakes, but I think that would still be delicious. Let us know how it turns out, John
this recipe is so great! it's easy and delicious. I did modify it slightly. I like my bread pudding to be a little on the drier side, so make sure to use a super dry baguette. I also added about 1/2 less milk and 1/2 t less salt, doubled the garlic, and added some parmasean, halved grape tomatoes a large bunch of chives to it.
Can the dish be put together the night before and put in the fridge before cooking it the next morning? I need a dish for a lunch and would prefer not to have to get up too early to make it! It looks fabulous and I can't wait to make it!
I just have to make this for my mom!!! Question: how do you put 12+ slices of bread in a single layer in a shallow pan? Wouldn't that be a freakishly large pan?
I get your point, Donna! LOL! Yes, it probably would take a freakishly large pan to hold all that bread in a single layer. That is how the instructions were written in the original recipe. But it's OK if they overlap a little. I use a large-ish roasting pan and they fit fairly well, actually. I pour some of the milk on top of the slices before they overlap and then over the whole thing so all the bread gets soaked. You can gently press the bread into the milk, and it all seems to come out just fine. I hope you make this - let me know how it turns out!
Thanks so much for the reply! I'll get out my roaster this weekend!
OMG, love artichokes and this is rockin thank you
You're welcome, Bev!