The Best Raspberry Bread

So many fruity breads and pastries, but none with just raspberries. It was time to change that and show some raspberry love.

I love the recipe because the bread is falling apart soft and tender thanks to a trifecta of moisturizing and tenderizing ingredients: butter, oil, and buttermilk.

Butter adds rich flavor, oil keeps baked goods softer and springier than butter alone, and buttermilk provides lightness and fluffiness. With that lineup, it’s impossible to have dry bread.

I used frozen raspberries and they released so much juice that I worried the tops and sides of the bread would become too browned before the center cooked through.

The Best Raspberry Bread Recipe

The bread is falling apart soft and tender thanks to a trifecta of moisturizing and tenderizing ingredients: butter, oil, and buttermilk. Butter adds rich flavor, oil keeps baked goods softer and springier than butter alone, and buttermilk provides lightness and fluffiness. With that lineup, it’s impossible to have dry bread. Throw in 2 cups of raspberries, and you’re destined for they juiciest loaf of bread ever. I highly recommend using fresh rather than frozen raspberries because the later releases so much juice. Baking time will vary greatly based on if using fresh or frozen berries, see below. The bread is bursting with raspberries in every bite and there’s almost as many raspberries as there is bread.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch salt, optional and to taste
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 10 to 12 ounces raspberries, about 2 cups (I used frozen but highly recommend fresh)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray one 9×5-inch loaf pan with floured cooking spray, or grease and flour the pan; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, add 2 cups + 2 tablespoons flour, sugars, baking soda, optional salt, and whisk to combine; set aside.
3. In a medium microwave-safe bowl or glass measuring cup, melt the butter, about 45 seconds on high power. Allow butter to cool momentarily so you don’t scramble the egg.
4. To the butter, add the egg, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and whisk to combine.
5. Pour wet over dry and stir until just combined; don’t overmix. Batter will be somewhat lumpy and don’t try to stir the lumps smooth or bread will be tough; set aside.
6. In a medium bowl, add the raspberries, 2 tablespoons flour, and toss lightly to combine (coating berries in flour helps to reduce sinking while baking).
7. Add the raspberries to the batter and fold very lightly to combine.
8. Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula and pushing it into corners and sides as necessary.
9. Baking time will range greatly based on if using fresh or frozen berries. I used frozen berries and baked for 1 hour 17 minutes, and tented the pan with foil (lay a sheet of foil over top of pan) at the 30-minute mark. If using fresh berries (highly recommended), I estimate baking time to be about 45 minutes; tent pan with foil about 30 minutes into baking to prevent top and sides from becoming overly browned. Bread is done when top is set in the middle, slightly domed, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted in the center (if you can find a patch without hitting raspberries) comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter. Allow bread to cool in pan for about 15 minutes before turning out on a wire rack to cool completely before slicing and serving.

Notes :  Optionally, serve bread with Blueberry Butter, Strawberry Butter, Honey Butter, Cinnamon-Sugar Butter, or Vanilla Browned Butter Glaze. Bread will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Recipe Adapted : The Best Raspberry Bread @ averiecooks