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Square of sourdough bread pudding with blueberries and Greek vanilla yogurt on a white plate

Sourdough Bread Pudding with Blueberries

A sourdough bread pudding baked with blueberries — a simple Nordic way to use up leftover bread.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Soaking 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Servings: 12 squares
Course: Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine: Nordic, Scandinavian
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Bread and custard
  • 500 g leftover sourdough bread 1 lb 2 oz, cut into ¾-inch (2 cm) cubes — we use our whole grain loaf
  • 8 large eggs
  • 90 g granulated sugar 7 tbsp
  • 1 tsp vanilla sugar or ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 500 ml whole milk 2 cups + 2 tbsp
Topping
  • 400 g frozen blueberries 3 cups, wild/lowbush if you can find them
  • 25 g granulated sugar 2 tbsp
To serve
  • 350 ml Greek vanilla yogurt 1½ cups
  • 70 g frozen blueberries ½ cup

Equipment

  • 9x13-inch baking pan The pan does the work here — it sets the depth of the custard, and depth sets the bake time.
  • Mixing bowl Just for the custard — the bread never goes in a bowl, it goes straight into the pan.
  • Balloon whisk For getting air into the eggs and sugar before the milk goes in.
  • Digital kitchen scale Bread weight matters more than volume here — a dense loaf and an airy one fill a measuring cup very differently.
  • Parchment paper Line the pan with an overhang and you can lift the whole slab out to cut clean squares.
  • Instant-read thermometer The most reliable way to know a custard is set.

Method
 

  1. Preheat and line. Heat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Line a 9×13-inch pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on two sides.
  2. Trim and cube the bread. Trim off the hardest parts of the crust — the heel ends and any sections that have dried out properly. Cut the rest into ¾-inch (2 cm) cubes, softer crust and all, and tip them straight into the lined pan, spread level.
  3. Whisk the eggs. Whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla sugar together until pale and foamy, about 2 minutes. You want air in there.
  4. Add the milk. Whisk in the milk.
  5. Pour and soak. Pour the custard evenly over the bread in the pan. Press the cubes down gently with your hand so everything is submerged, and let it sit for 30 minutes. Sourdough is drier and firmer than white sandwich bread, and it needs this time — skip it and you get dry cubes sitting in set custard.
  6. Top with berries. Scatter the frozen blueberries evenly over the surface, then sprinkle the 2 tbsp of sugar over the berries.
  7. Bake. Bake for 45 minutes, until the custard is set with only the faintest wobble at the center. If you're using a thermometer, the center should read 175–180°F (80–82°C).
  8. Rest. Let it rest 15–20 minutes before cutting. It firms as it cools, and cutting straight out of the oven gives you a collapsed edge.
  9. Serve. Serve warm, with a spoonful of Greek vanilla yogurt and a few frozen blueberries scattered over the top.

Notes

Chef's tip — frozen berries on a warm square. Scatter a few straight from the freezer over each portion as you serve. The cold, sharp contrast is what the baked berries have given up — more on why in the post below.
  • Almonds: if you add them, scatter them on top before baking, never stirred into the custard. On top they toast; stirred in they go soft and disappear.
  • Make ahead: assemble through step 5, cover the pan and refrigerate overnight. Add the berries and sugar in the morning and bake straight from cold — add 5–10 minutes.
  • Storage: keeps covered in the fridge for 3 days. Reheat individual squares in a 325°F (160°C) oven for 10 minutes.