Pear season in New England is short. To take advantage of the availability of local varieties, I started scouring pear recipes, then testing out the ones that interested me. Pears are one fruit I haven’t used much in baking in the past. I have a bit of a thing about texture, especially in my food, and pears can have a grittiness to them. Between having a convenient source for pears at the local orchard and Eric’s fondness for pears, I decided it was time to start experimenting with them.
In researching pears for the Prosciutto, Pear & Blue Cheese post a few weeks ago, I learned a lot about the ripening process of pears and found a wealth of recipes that I’m looking forward to making. This venture into baking with pears is a spiced pear bread. The recipe was a success & the bread was a hit with Eric, so there will be more pear things in the future for me & on my blog!
Spiced Pear Bread
Spiced Pear Bread (adapted from midwestliving.com)
Makes: 28 servings Yield: 2 loaves Total Time 1 1/2 hours
Ingredients:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup milk
- 4 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups peeled and chopped pear
- 3/4 cup regular rolled oats, divided
- 3/4 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350º. To toast the walnuts, spread them on a baking sheet and bake them in the preheated oven for 5 to 10 minutes, until they are fragrant. Cool them before chopping.
Grease the bottom and sides of two 8x4x2-inch loaf pans, then dust them with flour. Set them aside while you prepare the batter. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, ground ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and cardamom. Set the dry ingredients aside.
Cinnamon, ginger & cardamom spice up the dry ingredients.
In a medium bowl, combine the buttermilk, milk, eggs, melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture. Stir until the batter is just combined. Stir in the pear, 1/2 cup of the oats and the nuts.
Add the walnuts, pear & oatmeal after the wet ingredients.
Divide the batter between the prepared pans. Sprinkle them with the remaining 1/4 cup of oats.
Sprinkle the remaining oatmeal on top of the loaves.
Bake the loaves for 45 minutes then loosely cover the bread pans with foil for the last 5-15 minutes, until the loaves are browned & a toothpick inserted in the center of each loaf comes out clean. Cool the bread in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes, until they start to pull away from the sides. Remove them from the pans and cool completely.
This has a delicate pear flavor.
The perfect afternoon treat! ~Linda
Spiced Pear Bread (adapted from midwestliving.com)
Makes: 28 servings Yield: 2 loaves Total Time 1 1/2 hours
Ingredients:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup milk
- 4 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups peeled and chopped pear
- 3/4 cup regular rolled oats, divided
- 3/4 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350º. To toast the walnuts, spread them on a baking sheet and bake them in the preheated oven for 5 to 10 minutes, until they are fragrant. Cool them before chopping.
Grease the bottom and sides of two 8x4x2-inch loaf pans, then dust them with flour. Set them aside while you prepare the batter. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, ground ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and cardamom. Set the dry ingredients aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the buttermilk, milk, eggs, melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture. Stir until the batter is just combined. Stir in the pear, 1/2 cup of the oats and the nuts. Divide the batter between the prepared pans. Sprinkle them with the remaining 1/4 cup of oats.
Bake the loaves for 45 minutes then loosely cover the bread pans with foil for the last 5-15 minutes, until the loaves are browned & a toothpick inserted in the center of each loaf comes out clean. Cool the bread in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes, until they start to pull away from the sides. Remove them from the pans and cool completely.