Bread pudding: Love it or hate it?

By CHARLES FERRUZZA

I have friends who won’t touch bread pudding. The idea of a dessert made from old, stale bread offends their sensibilities to the very core, even though the history of the dessert as a clever way of salvaging dried bread dates back to the 13th century.

One of the finest pastry chefs in the city, Megan Garrelts — who co-owns Bluestem with her husband Colby — gave me a look of distaste when I asked if she ever offered bread pudding as a dessert. “It’s kind of boring,” she told me. “And it’s made with old, leftover bread.”

And what’s wrong with that?