Strawberry bread

I recently posted a recipe for roasted strawberry muffins that featured some local strawberries. Since I had an abundance of strawberries after my trip to the farmer's market, I decided to make something else to highlight the fruit.

My family and I enjoy munching on quick breads, so I decided to bake a strawberry bread that we could eat for breakfast or in between meals. I found this particular recipe on Martha Stewart, and it was extremely easy to put together.

The bread was fantastic on the day it was baked, but it seemed to lose a bunch of moisture the next day. I loved the subtlety of the cinnamon paired with the sweet strawberries. I'd recommend making a few changes to this recipe (changes not reflected below). First, I'd roast the strawberries for a deeper and brighter berry flavor (and infuse the juice into the bread). Second, I'd add a bit of Greek yogurt or applesauce (perhaps replacing the water with the yogurt or applesauce) in order to introduce more moisture to the bread, and upping the cinnamon to about 3/4 teaspoon.

Don't get me wrong - this is a nice strawberry bread. I just think it needs a few tweaks to make it even better.

Strawberry bread

• 1 pint strawberries, rinsed, hulled, quartered, and mashed with a fork
• 1 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 5 Tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup water

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. 

Grease an 8-by-4-inch loaf pan (or a 9x5 inch loaf pan). 

In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook the strawberries until they boil. Cook and stir for 1 additional minute and set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt and set aside. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl if using a handheld mixer, beat the butter, sugar, and eggs until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. 

Alternatively add the flour mixture with the water, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix until just combined - do not overmix.  Turn off the mixer and gently fold in strawberries by hand using a rubber or wooden spatula.

Transfer the batter into greased loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake for about 45 minutes. Then cover/tent the loaf with aluminum foil and bake an additional 15 minutes until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 

Turn off the oven, remove the pan from the oven and allow the bread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then run a knife around edges, invert the bread onto a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before transferring back to the loaf pan.

Yield: One 8x4 inch loaf (can also use a 9x5 inch loaf pan)

Source: Martha Stewart