This Blackberry Quick Bread was really just an excuse to try out a Pampered Chef stoneware loaf pan I found at a thrift store. I’ve always been curious whether stoneware improves the crust or helps the bread rise higher. Maybe it did, maybe it didn’t, but what I do know is that the bread turned out so good, I’ll definitely be making it again.
It’s a dense but moist, domed loaf with a nicely peaked center and a tender crumb.
Pantry Staples
Another thing I love about this recipe is that it call for pantry staples: whole milk, eggs, vanilla, lemon, and cinnamon. No yogurt, sour cream, or buttermilk required (though you could sub in buttermilk if you’d like). I did add cardamom which may or may not be a staple, but it's also optional. I just love it with berries.
Ugly Batter
Now here’s the catch: the batter is hideous. By that I mean grey, lumpy, and streaked with purple from the berries. Don’t be alarmed. This is actually a good sign. The technique used here is similar to biscuit-making: instead of creaming the butter, you grate or cut it into the dry ingredients. This coats the flour with fat and limits gluten development, which helps keep the texture soft and dense rather than rubbery. Surprisingly, the loaf only uses 6 tablespoons of butter.
Loaf Pan Size
This makes a full 9x5-inch loaf. I usually prefer 8½x4½-inch pans, but since I wanted to test my new stoneware, I scaled the recipe for the larger size. If you’d rather bake it in a smaller pan, fill it about ¾ full and use any extra batter for muffins or custard cup minis. Also, I do think the stoneware made a superior crust. The blackberry quick bread did have a lovely shape to it and a bit of a dome as well.
Blackberry Quick Bread Notes & Substitutions
This recipe is very much a quick bread, not a cake. The goal was to keep it simple, using basic ingredients most people have on hand. That said, here are a few notes and substitutions in case you need to make adjustments.
- Butter the pan: Greasing the loaf pan with butter helps prevent sticking, but it also adds a subtle richness to the crust. You can use either salted or unsalted butter for greasing, and if all you have is salted butter for the batter, that’s totally fine too.
- Lemon juice and zest: The lemon juice is mainly there to add acidity, while the zest brings a bright, fresh flavor. If you want to skip the lemon juice, you can substitute buttermilk for the whole milk. But do try to keep the zest because it really enhances the overall flavor.
- Sugar level: You can reduce the sugar by up to 2 tablespoons, but I wouldn’t go any lower. As written, the bread is lightly sweet but not quite dessert-sweet. Personally, I would leave the sugar as is.
- Cardamom: This is optional, but highly recommended. It adds a warm, slightly citrusy note that complements the blackberries, lemon, and cinnamon beautifully.
Recipe
Blackberry Quick Bread
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra for loaf pan (114 grams)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar plus 2 teaspoons for top (150 grams plus about 8 grams)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk (scant, so no more than a cup)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2-3 teaspoons lemon zest plus 1 tablespoon of juice (5 grams) (14 grams juice)
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (weigh or use a light hand) (315 grams)
- 2 ½ tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt plus a pinch
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)
- ⅔ cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
- 1 ¼ cup fresh blackberries, heaping (or use more)
Instructions
- Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan generously with softened butter. Line with parchment, then grease parchment with more butter.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. You are going to turn down the heat to 350, but the goal is to start in a very hot oven.
- Whisk the eggs in a bowl or large cup, then whisk in the milk, vanilla and lemon juice. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and cardamom. Stir for a minute so that everything is uniformly blended. Grate the butter over the flour mixture and stir until butter coats the flour and mixture is crumbly.
- Add the lemon zest, berries and nuts to the dry mixture.
- Pour the egg mixture into the dry mixture and stir with a heavy duty scraper until evenly blended. This will take a few minutes. Be sure to get all of that flour blended in. The batter should be grey with blackberry streaks and tiny lumps of butter. Basically, the ugliest quick bread batter you've ever seen.
- Scrape the ugly, lumpy the batter into the loaf pan, Stick a few more blueberries or whole walnuts in there, then sprinkle the additional 2 teaspoons of sugar (you can use more or less) to help create a shiny finish.
- Bake for 12 minutes and 400F, then turn down the heat to 350F.
- Continue baking at 350 for another 1 hour and 15 minutes or until brown and cracked on the top.
- Let cool for at least a half hour, then remove from pan and let cool completely.
Leave a Reply