Recipes Bread Quick Bread Soda Bread Irish Soda Bread Pudding Everyone's favorite Irish quick bread makes for an exquisite dessert when baked into a custard with eggs, sugar, and half-and-half. By Ian Knauer Ian Knauer Ian Knauer was a food editor at Gourmet Magazine, where he developed recipes in the publication's renowned test kitchen, as well as co-hosted its award-winning television shows Diary of a Foodie and Adventures with Ruth. Knauer went on to create and host his own PBS series, The Farm with Ian Knauer. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Published on March 12, 2026 Save Rate PRINT Share Close Credit: Ian Knauer Active Time: 15 mins Total Time: 1 hr Servings: 8 to 10 Jump to recipe Irish soda bread's dense, tender crumb soaks up the custard mixture while still baking up with a lightly crisp, golden top.Just a handful of ingredients — eggs, sugar, vanilla, and half-and-half — transform day-old bread into a rich, sweet dessert.You can use a homemade or store-bought loaf in this recipe; both will yield a delicious bake. If you've made a loaf of Irish soda bread or Irish brown bread for St. Patrick's Day, turn your stale leftovers into an exceptional treat with this easy recipe. What is Irish soda bread? Irish soda bread is made without yeast and, at its most basic, contains nothing more than wheat flour, baking soda, buttermilk, and salt. Irish American versions of Irish soda bread frequently add a hit of sugar and plenty of plump raisins and aromatic caraway seeds to the dough, making the staple into a sweet treat. Whatever version you choose, this style of bread is incredibly simple and quick to make, and the resulting loaf is almost sconelike: dense, tender on the inside, crusty on the outside, with a gentle tang thanks to the addition of buttermilk. Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen Dry bread creates the ideal texture and flavor; it does the best job of absorbing the custard base. If your bread is fresh, place the cubes on a sheet pan and bake them at 300°F for about 10 minutes to get rid of excess moisture. Bread pudding can be eaten as is, but serve it with a scoop of ice cream or a drizzle of crème anglaise (perhaps spiked with Irish cream) to take it over the top. Keep Screen Awake Ingredients 1/2x 1x 2x Oops! Something went wrong. Our team is working on it. This recipe was developed at its original yield. Ingredient amounts are automatically adjusted, but cooking times and steps remain unchanged. Note that not all recipes scale perfectly. Original recipe (1X) yields 8 to 10 servings 12 cups (1-inch cubes) Irish soda bread (1 loaf) 4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter 2 cups half-and-half 1 cup granulated sugar 3 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla Kosher salt Directions Preheat oven to 350°F. In a 3-quart baking dish, place the bread cubes in an even layer, then drizzle evenly with the butter. In a medium bowl, whisk together the half-and-half, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and 1 teaspoon salt. Pour the custard over the bread in the baking dish and press bread to soak up liquid. Let stand 10 minutes. Bake the bread pudding until the filling is set and it is golden on top, about 40 minutes. Let cool to warm, then serve. Make ahead To reheat, cover the pudding with foil and place in a 350°F oven until just warmed through. Originally appeared: August 2014 Cook this recipe and more in the MyRecipes app. Get the App Save Rate Print Loading shell for RecipesUgcThreaded1 Vue component in Globe.