“One berry / Two berry / Pick me a blueberry.” —Jamberry, Bruce Degen
A couple of weeks ago, our grocery store was having a sale on giant containers of blueberries. Thanks to frequent readings of kids’ books like Blueberries for Sal and Jamberry, I have berries on the brain anyway. I was excited because (1) yum, and (2) I really want to be one of those super savvy people with an arsenal of food in their freezer.
So, we bought some and I froze about half. (The way I read to do this is to just dump the unwashed blueberries into a freezer bag and rinse when ready to use. It’s supposed to keep the berries from clumping together.) It was good timing, because I soon found a blueberry bread recipe I’d been working on before I got pregnant, stuffed inside a notepad. It was kismet!
I’m not going to lie to you: I ended up making this blueberry bread three times over the last two weeks. And our child actually ate some! I love all quick breads, but this one might be my new favorite. It’s been a sweet reminder of spring and summer days as the temperature dips outside. My husband said the crumb was nice and moist, the cinnamon flavor was good, and the blueberries added some brightness. Berries are just so cheery and delicious; I might go help myself to another piece right now!
Let me know what you think if you decide to give this one a try!
BLUEBERRY BREAD
INGREDIENTS:
(dry)
1½ cups flour
2 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
(wet)
½ cup brown sugar
⅓ cup oil of choice
1 egg
¼ cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
(add in last)
1 cup blueberries (Fresh or frozen. If you do use frozen berries, there’s no need to thaw them first.)
You will also need: A standard size loaf pan (per the Internet, 8-½” x 4-½” x 2-½”), greased. Two mixing bowls. Measuring cups and spoons. A rubber spatula for mixing. A wire cooling rack.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and set aside. In a second mixing bowl, mix together wet ingredients. Gradually, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ones until no streaks of flour remain. Stir blueberries into batter and pour mixture into your greased loaf pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking time, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the bread rest in the pan for 10 minutes before turning it out onto a wire cooling rack.
Enjoy!
