Delicious Mix & Match Quick Bread

I love bread!  I have always loved bread, especially fresh baked bread. When I was about 11 years old, I started making homemade wheat bread from scratch (no bread maker). My mom still laughs about it, because she is more of a “why make bread if you can buy it kind of gal”!  

I still love bread, but the days of making homemade wheat bread have pretty much gone.  Not because I don’t see the value anymore, but mainly because making bread with yeast is SO time consuming!

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Mix & match quick bread is a delicious recipe that you can make your own by choosing your flavor & mix ins!

Quick Bread

However, there are still some types of bread that can be made quickly, do you know what those are… quick breads!!! These are breads that use baking powder as a leavening agent (causes them to rise) and they don’t have to sit for hours to rise! That’s a great thing for those of us short on time! 

I love all different kinds of quick bread!  Since I was a young girl, I can remember my godmother baking (many) loaves of banana bread with red & green cherries on top! I loved eating it warm, right out of the oven with butter on it!  So delicious!

Over the years, I have tried many recipes for banana bread, zucchini bread, pumpkin bread, and apple bread….. And although many of them were wonderful recipes, I didn’t really have a go to recipe for quick bread until a few years ago.

That’s when I found a recipe in the Food Network magazine for Mix & Match Quick bread. It was great! You pick your fruit or vegetable and whatever additions that you want to make the bread your own, and that’s all it took… I was hooked!

I love a good “mix & match” typed recipe (remember my cowboy cookies?) and this one is no exception!  There are so many great options that your really can’t go wrong! The batter is delicious so whatever you decide to add to it only makes it better! My favorites are zucchini+coconut+oats+ nuts & carrots + coconut + nuts, and today, I may have found a new favorite, banana + coconut + pecans+ chocolate chips (can you tell I like coconut?).

A Tasty Gift

Another reason I love quick bread is that they make wonderful gifts!  And especially this time of year, when you are always needing a small gift to show your appreciation to your neighbor, mailman, or coworker, this can be a wonderful option that will be enjoyed (and likely quickly devoured)! (You can get my free Christmas baking tag for your gifts in my Resource Library!)

 

This quick bread is a great gift!

The original recipe gives options for several icings.  I don’t usually ice my bread, but if you are giving this as a gift, I would probably go the extra mile to dress it up. (Please overlook my pics… I got in a hurry & forgot the icing!).

Print Recipe

Mix & Match Quick Bread

This delicious quick bread, that I found in a Food Network magazine years ago, will become a favorite as you pick your the flavors that you love to make it your own!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Servings: 10 slices

Ingredients

Pick Your Main Flavor for Bread

  • 1 cup 1 fruit or vegetable shredded pears, shredded apples, mashed bananas, shredded carrots, shredded zucchini

Mix Ins (add up to 1 3/4 cup of any combinations of the ingredients listed below but no more than 3/4 of nuts total).

  • walnuts, pecans, almonds, hazelnuts or pistachios chopped & roasted
  • dried fruit (cherries, cranberries, currants, raisins, figs, apricots, or dates chopped into small pieces
  • oats, chocolate chips (or peanut butter/toffee chips etc), toasted coconut use your imagination!

Batter for bread

  • 1 1/4 cup flour, all-purpose
  • 3/4 cups sugar your choice of sugar, I use coconut sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon, ground
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg or less if your family aren't fans (I used 1/4 tsp)
  • 2 eggs, whisked
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted & cooled equivalent to 1 stick (I use salted)
  • 1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Browned Butter Glaze (option #1)

  • 3 tbsp butter browned on low heat, cool slightly
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted sift so your icing won't be lumpy
  • 1 tbsp milk

Cream Cheese Glaze (option #2)

  • 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
  • 3 tbsp softened cream cheese
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla

Vanilla Bean Glaze (option #3)

  • 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 tbsp milk
  • 1 vanilla bean remove seeds from vanilla bean & add them to the milk/sugar mixture.

Instructions

Bread

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your bread pan with spray or oil/butter.
  • Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, sugar, mix ins & set aside.
  • Melt butter & allow to cool. Add eggs, sour cream/yogurt, vanilla to the cooled butter and then mix in your fruit or vegetable. Mix well.
  • Gently incorporate dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Once combined well, pour batter into your prepared pan & bake for 45-55 minutes. Bread will be ready when a toothpick inserted in the middle of your loaf comes out clean.

Glaze (choose one type of glaze from those listed above)

  • Whisk wet ingredient with sifted powdered sugar. Pour onto top of cooled loaf and allow to set up before covering.

Recipe originally from FoodNetwork.com

I hope you will enjoy playing with your add-ins & making this recipe your own! Share with me your favorite flavor combinations in the comments below! 

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