Strawberry Quick Bread

Well, the thunderstorms that were forecast never materialized (of course, because I carried an umbrella around all day--if I hadn't, it would definitely have poured) but somehow it's cooled off anyway! Hooray! Good thing since I just happened to pick up some mini loaf pans today (I also bought new cookie sheets, but, grr, I didn't account for the handles, and they are too wide! Sigh. Stupid tiny oven.) I used to have this great recipe for strawberry quick bread, but I don't know what I did with it--it was more of a cake and involved creaming butter and sugar etc. but I wanted something I could just stir together. Hey, it's Sunday! I'm allowed to be lazy! So, basic buttermilk quick bread to the rescue. I used the basic recipe from the Joy of Cooking, and just stirred in a cup of chopped strawberries.


Aren't they cute? A standard quick bread recipe will make four mini loaves (I'm planning on freezing two of them.)


They are moist and lightly sweet, good with a cup of tea or coffee (preferably iced in this weather!). Not quite as good as my old recipe, but definitely much less work. Next time, I'm thinking I'll have to make some mini ginger loaves, and use up some of this giant stash of candied ginger I have (where did it all come from?). Have a good week everyone!

Strawberry Quick Bread, adapted from the Joy of Cooking
2 cups all purpose flour, divided
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 tablespoons butter, melted (or vegetable oil)
1 cup small-diced strawberries

Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease and flour 4 mini loaf pans or a 9x5 loaf pan.

Toss the diced strawberries together with 1/4 cup of flour. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together remaining flour and other dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk, sugar, vanilla, and butter until well combined. Add all at once to the dry ingredients, and stir until just combined; lumps are perfectly fine. Fold the strawberries in with a large rubber spatula. Divide between the mini loaf pans (or pour it all into the large loaf pan). If you want, you can slice up a few strawberries and line them up on top; they'll get jammy and sticky and look nice, so I recommend it! Set the loaf pans on a baking sheet and bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck into the bread comes out clean. The large loaf pan will take longer, I would start testing at 45 minutes. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then turn out and serve warm.