Berry Quick Bread with Lemon Sugar Glaze

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I just can’t get over how delightful this berry quick bread is! It is an easy recipe that is bursting with juicy blueberries and raspberries and topped with a simple lemon glaze. It can easily be enjoyed as a breakfast bread with your morning cup of coffee or beautifully presented at your next brunch get together with friends. The flavor is a wonderful blend of tang and sweetness, and the texture is perfectly moist. With just a handful and common ingredients and minimal effort, you’ll be enjoying this original recipe before you know it. 

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One of the best things about this berry bread is that it is a great recipe to bring a little color on to your breakfast table. Many breakfast foods and baked goods are beige in color. The juicy berries throughout the loaf and placed on top isn’t only a delight for taste buds, but also beautiful to look at. You can also top off the sweet bread with a little bit of lemon zest or place mint leaves to stick out of the berries on top of the loaf for some additional pops of color. It is a perfect quick breakfast or a great option to enjoy with afternoon tea. 

Equipment Needed:

• 1 large bowl, 1 medium bowl and 1 small bowl: The large and medium mixing bowls are needed to mix the wet ingredients and dry ingredients separately. The wet ingredients will then be mixed into the dry ingredients. A small bowl will be used to create the simple lemon glaze.
• Wooden spoon and wire whisk: Used to mix the ingredients.   
• Measuring cup and measuring spoons: Used to accurately measure the needed ingredients needed. 
• 9 x 5 inch light metal loaf pan: A light metal loaf pan is recommended over a dark metal loaf pan or glass loaf pan. A dark metal loaf pan can cause the crust of the bread to cook too quickly and burn, while a glass loaf pan does not conduct the heat as well as metal and may take longer to bake and have a gooey middle. 

Ingredients Needed:

All you need for this easy bread recipe are some basic ingredients that you can easily find in the grocery store. 

​Berry Quick Loaf Ingredients:

• All-purpose flour 
• Baking powder and baking soda: These ingredients are the leavening agents and are needed to help the loaf rise while baking. Insure the baking soda and baking powder are not old or expired to avoid a flat loaf. 
• Salt: Use white table salt or ground sea salt.
• Baking oil: Use your favorite baking oil to help bring in moisture to the loaf, such as canola oil, light olive oil or vegetable oil. Here is a link to the best oils to use in baking.  
• Granulated sugar: I use standard white granular sugar while baking. You can use your favorite granular sweetener instead, or even use honey or maple syrup as a substitute. 
• Eggs: Allow the eggs to come to room temperature prior to mixing in with the other ingredients to ensure everyting easily blends together.
• Vanilla extract
• Buttermilk: The acidic level in the buttermilk will activate the baking soda and help the loaf rise. If you do not have buttermilk, mix whole milk + 1 teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar in a separate bowl from the other ingredients. Allow the mixture to set on the counter for 10-15 minutes prior to using in the recipe. 
• Fresh blueberries and raspberries: If blueberries and raspberries are not your favorite, you can easily swap them out with other berries such as blackberries, strawberries or even cherries. Just cut the berries and fruit down a bit to avoid huge fruit chucks sinking from the center of the loaf. 

​Lemon Simple Glaze Ingredients: 

• ​Confections sugar: Also known as icing sugar, confection sugar is a powdered sugar with starch added to help prevent caking as it sits. 
• Lemon juice and water: The tartness in the lemon juice will help balance the sweetness of the glaze and bring a complimentary flavor to the loaf. The water will be used to bring the glaze to an icing consistency. 

How to Make Berry Bread:

Now that you have all of your simple ingredients ready, let’s get to baking! 

Prep

• Wash the berries and pat dry. Lightly coat the berries in flour to help prevent the berries from sinking to the bottom of the loaf while baking.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan by spraying the inner sides and bottom of the pan with cooking spray. 

Mix

• In a mixing bowl, sift together and combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set it aside.
• In another bowl, cream the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then add the vanilla extract to the egg mixture. 
• Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, alternating with the buttermilk. Mix until just combined. Do not over mix.
• Gently fold the berries into the batter.

Bake

• Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan, spreading it evenly.  Place the loaf into the center of the preheated oven and bake for 50–60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Make The Sugar Lemon Glaze

• While the loaf is baking, make the lemon sugar glaze. In a bowl, sift in the confectioners sugar, add the lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of milk. Stir until the ingredients are well combined. If the mixture is too dry, add in more milk 1 tablespoon at a time.
• Allow the loaf to rest in the pan for about 10 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack to cool completely.

Add Toppings & Enjoy

Use a spoon to drizzle the lemon sugar glaze over the top of the berry loaf. Add extra berries on the top of the loaf for decoration. The berries will stick to the icing and help them stay in place. The icing will harden a bit as the loaf rests.

Berry Bread Variations:

Tweaks can easily be made to this easy sweet bread recipe to make it your own. You can omit the raspberries to make a delightful lemon blueberry bread recipe, or even swap the fruits out entirely for new ones to make a strawberry bread, an orange cranberry bread or something similar. The choices are endless!

If you enjoyed this moist quick bread recipe filled with fresh fruits, try the almond butter banana bread recipe or Greek yogurt quick bread recipe next!

Berry Bread Baking Tips:

• Use an 8 x 5 loaf pan that is made of light metal/steel. A loaf pan that is dark may cause the loaf to cook too quickly and burn the crust, while a glass loaf pan will take longer to bake any could cause the loaf to have a gooey middle.
• Ensure your ingredients are fresh and not expired for best flavor. Some expired ingredients, such as flour and baking soda, could result in a flat and tasteless loaf.
• Allow the eggs come to room temperature by sitting out on the counter 30 minutes prior to baking. This will allow all the ingredients to easily mix together instead of becoming cold and clumping up.
• When measuring out the flour, do not over pack the measuring cup. Instead, spoon the flour into the measuring cup and then level off by removing excess flour with a knife. This will help avoid a dense loaf.
• Avoid over mixing the batter. Instead, mix until all ingredients are just combined to keep as much air in the batter as possible. Over mixing may also casue the bread to be too dense.
• Do not skip the toothpick test before pulling the berry bread from the oven. Simply insert a toothpick in the top middle of the loaf. If the toothpick comes out clean, the loaf is fully cooked. If not, let it bake for another 10 minutes and test again.
• Allow the bread to completely cool for at lest one hour. I know it’s tempting, but if you slice too early, the slices will crumble and fall apart.

How to store berry bread:

• Countertop or Refrigerator: Homemade banana read can be wrapped in plastic wrap or placed in an airtight container and stored on the counter for up to 3 days. To extend the bread life a little more, store the bread in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. The berry bread slices can be enjoyed cold or warmed in a toaster oven or the microwave.
• Freezer: Slice the berry bread, wrap in aluminum foil and place in a freezer bag or container for up to 3 months. Slices can be removed and placed on the counter to thaw a few hours before consuming, or warmed up in a toaster oven.

Did you enjoy this quick bread recipe using fresh berries? Your feedback in the comments takes just a minute to contribute and helps other brunch lovers find their next favorite recipe! Thank you for your time in trying out a new recipe and sharing your thoughts. For more, visit the recipes tab.