Easy Strawberry Bread

Prep Time: 15 minutes 

Cook Time: 1 hour 

Total Time: 2 hours Yield: 1 loaf

This is super moist and tender strawberry bread, filled to the brim with fresh summer berries. I usually make the quick bread with melted coconut oil, but a neutral oil like vegetable oil works too. Drizzle the cooled bread with creamy vanilla icing.

Ingredients

Bread

• 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (50g) packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup (180ml) buttermilk, at room temperature*
• 1/3 cup (80ml) vegetable oil or melted coconut oil
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
• 1 and 1/2 cups (230g) chopped fresh strawberries, tossed in 1 Tablespoon of flour

Vanilla Icing

• 1/2 cup (60g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 1 Tablespoon (15ml) heavy cream or milk
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease an 8×4-inch loaf pan like this one or this one with nonstick spray. Set aside.
2. Make the bread: In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together until combined. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and buttermilk together until combined. Make sure there are no brown sugar lumps remaining. Whisk in the oil and vanilla.
4. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently whisk until there are no more lumps. Avoid over-mixing. Gently fold in the strawberries. Pour/spoon batter into prepared loaf pan.
5. Bake for 55–70 minutes, making sure to loosely cover the bread with aluminum foil halfway through to prevent the top from getting too brown. The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with only a few small moist crumbs. All ovens vary, so begin checking every 5 minutes around the 55-minute mark.
6. Remove bread from the oven and allow the bread to cool in the pan set on a wire rack for 1 hour. Remove bread from the pan and place the loaf directly on the wire rack to cool completely.
7. Make the icing: Whisk the icing ingredients together. (I usually use heavy cream, which promises a thick icing.) Drizzle over bread before slicing.
8. Cover and store bread at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Icing seeps into the top of the strawberry bread over time, so expect the tops of the slices to become a little moist.

Notes

Freezing Instructions: It’s best to freeze this bread without the icing, and ice the bread after thawing and before serving. Freeze baked & cooled loaf for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. If desired, bring to room temperature before serving.

Update in 2023: This recipe was originally published in 2014. Over the years, I made some subtle improvements to improve the taste and texture. The recipe used to call for 1 teaspoon of baking soda, but the baking powder + baking soda combination above produces a better-tasting crumb. The recipe also used to call for 1 cup (240ml) buttermilk, but the bread was often too wet.

Can I use a 9×5-inch loaf pan? I recommend baking this strawberry bread in a 1-lb. (8×4-inch) loaf pan like this one or this one. If all you have is a 9×5-inch loaf pan, you can use it, but expect the bread to be a little shorter/flatter. The bake time is about the same.

Buttermilk: Buttermilk is required for this recipe. You can make your own DIY version of buttermilk if needed. Add 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of white vinegar or lemon juice to a liquid measuring cup. Then add enough whole milk to the same measuring cup until it reaches 3/4 cup. (In a pinch, lower-fat or nondairy milks work for this soured milk, but the bread won’t taste as rich and moist.) Stir it around and let sit for 5 minutes. The homemade “buttermilk” will be somewhat curdled and ready to use in the recipe.

Vanilla: I love using vanilla bean paste in the bread and icing because it combines both extract AND vanilla bean seeds. You can, of course, use pure vanilla extract instead. If you want that extra vanilla bean flavor, feel free to add the seeds scraped from 1/4 of a vanilla bean in the bread batter, and use the seeds from another 1/4 of the vanilla bean in the icing. (This is in addition to the liquid vanilla extract.)

Can I Use Frozen Strawberries? I strongly recommend using fresh, as frozen or thawed berries produce a mushy bread. If you need to use frozen, thaw and pat as dry as possible before tossing in flour.

Glazed Strawberry Muffins: Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C) and spray a 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray, or line with cupcake liners. Prepare batter as directed above. Fill each cupcake liner to the top with batter and bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425°F (218°C). Then, keeping the muffins in the oven, lower the temperature to 350°F (177°C) and continue to bake for an additional 14–15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Top with glaze. Makes about 12 muffins.

Find it online: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/glazed-strawberry-bread/