For context: I’ll be traveling ~2 hours for Thanksgiving, and this is the dish I’m going to bring. I’m not really sure how I want to do it… bake before I leave and hope it stays warm or microwave when I get there, bring the ingredients and make it when I get there, or premix it and have it ready to go to bake when I get there. A coworker suggested a making it in crock pot, so I wanted to see if y’all thought it could work and how you would suggest timing it if it would.
I don’t want to choose anything different to bring; this is my grandmom’s Thanksgiving staple, and she died last week… I can’t imagine going Thanksgiving without it, especially not our first one without her there.
by Alicrafty
2 Comments
Yeah it’s basically a bread pudding, which I make in slow cooker all the time.
Here’s what I would do :
Get a nice sturdy bread like a boule or ciabatta round or baguette. I’d let it sit for a day to get stale or if I had time I would make into croutons by roasting the cut cubes in my oven. Personally I think toasting is the way to go but I don’t know your time budget.
Then I’d make the base as instructed. I’d make sure to liberally grease my crock or if you aren’t opposed use a liner. Personally a buttered crock means more flavor, but if you miss a nook or cranny your looking at a soak time to get it clean.
Ok, so next, put the toasted bread cubes in crock and pour the mix with pineapple over it. And here’s where I use my favorite slow cooker hack in the world-:I put a couple of layers of paper towels or a clean folded cotton dish towel on top of the crock and then put lid on. Yes you get a good seal and no you wont burn the house down. This prevents the condensation from dripping back into the dish and is so useful when you bake” in your slow cooker. Prevents soggy bread pudding
Now my bread budding takes about 1-2 hours on high or 2-3 on low. Personally I prefer low temp but high yields some crunchy outer bits that you’d get in the oven. It’s done when the custard is set.
And finally if it’s in budget and you can afford I strongly suggest a trial run this weekend. I’d probably get the cheapest stuff at dollar tree/Walmart for cheap baguette, and pineapple. Definitely wouldn’t use my organic pineapple or regenerative happy eggs for the trial run! If if it fails, well you aren’t out a lot of money. If successful, Tyou have a rough idea of cook times etc.
Just make it in advance and fridge it, then drop it in a warm (100C 200F) oven for an hour when you get there.