Strata/savory bread pudding with very dry bread?

[weizenwind]

A while back I had most of a loaf of bread that was going stale, so I cubed it and dried it out, then bagged it and put it in the fridge before leaving town. Now I'd like to make some sort of savory bread pudding like the strata in Veganomicon. How should I handle the extra-dry bread? Rehydrate it in broth or nondairy milk first? Or just make the

Comments

[mangiati_vivi]

I haven't tried it, but if I were I'd soak it in non-dairy milk first and then proceed as usual. If you do it all in one step you might underestimate the necessary moisture and end up with a brick. Re-hydrating in the beginning kinda takes away the guesswork.

[isnifpixistix]

I'm not sure it will work. bread pudding is intended to have day (or two) old bread which is firmer and a bit more dry than when it was store bought -- still moist enough to have bread texture, dry enough where it will soak up just enough of the liquid to make it creamy and chewy.

if your bread is too dry, it's going to be a soppy, textureless mess when rehydrated. why don't you use your super dry bread for breadcrumbs instead?

[weizenwind]

Well, that's good input, but it's too late for this iteration. I've added some broth to soften it up, and I'll put it all together as soon as the kale gets a little more tender. I'll post how it goes! I also only used about half of the cubes I had (originally intended to be used as stuffing, but I might go for breadcrumbs instead--thanks).

[weizenwind]

Thanks to both of you for your help. It did come out without much bread texture after premoistening the bread, but it's still quite enjoyable, and it's the dish I wanted with what I had on hand.