Strawberry & Poppyseed Buttermilk Bread

I had all these plans to make tacos and ice cream and fizzy floats over the weekend but then it rained; it rained for two days straight and all I could muster up the craving to do was bake. The gentle patter of the rain against our tin roof was soothing as I measured, poured, stirred, and repeated. I played the Darjeeling Limited soundtrack on repeat while the muted natural light gleamed in the windows just enough to avoid turning the lights on. I baked a cake and this loaf of bread for no particular reason other than I was starved for comfort after being on a week long business trip in Nashville.

This recipe is inspired by banana bread. I once had a roommate that wanted to make the best banana bread ever so she continued to bake loaves for weeks on end, tweaking it a bit each time, until she came out with a subtly sweet and dense loaf of deliciousness. I was one of the lucky few who got to enjoy those banana bread slices day in and day out as she baked dozens and dozens of versions. For that, banana bread has a very comforting and familiar taste for me. When getting ready to make the banana bread this weekend, I realized my bananas were not ready and turned to the other fruits I had laying around. The pint of strawberries were so close to being past their prime that I knew I’d have to use them that day or chuck them. I also decided to brighten the flavor up a bit by replacing the wintery spices with citrus zest and the result was phenomenal.

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Many of you may already know strawberry bread in the form of a sweet pound cake dotted with strawberry slices; I’d like to warn you that this is not that. It is not sweet and airy like a cake and has a denser, banana bread texture to it. If you are a fan of banana bread then you will love this; it’s subtly sweet and spiced which makes it the perfect breakfast food to enjoy alongside a cup of coffee or tea.

If you really want to make this but don’t have enough strawberries, you can swap in a portion of the strawberry puree for applesauce or other pureed fruit. You can also fold in chunks of strawberries if you’d like the flavor to be more intense or add a handful of chopped nuts for a crunch.

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Strawberry & Poppyseed Buttermilk Bread

makes 1 loaf

  • 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup sunflower oil (or grapeseed oil)
  • 1/4 cup buttermilk
  • 1 cup pureed strawberries (about 1 pint strawberries pureed in a blender)
  • 1/4 cup poppy seeds + more to top the loaf with
  • Thin slices of strawberries to top the loaf with

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a loaf pan with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, cinnamon, zest, and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredient and pour in the strawberry puree, buttermilk, brown sugar, poppyseeds, and oil. Whisk together the wet ingredients and once incorporated, start incorporating the dry ingredients into the wet by making large whisking strokes until everything is incorporated.

Transfer the batter to your prepared muffin loaf and top with slices of strawberries and more poppyseeds. Bake for 45 minutes or until the top has browned and a toothpick comes out of the center clean. Let cool before serving with butter and / or jam.

 

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Comment

16 Comments

  • Anca
    May 19, 2015

    Looks like a very interesting recipe. I like the idea of strawberries are poppy seeds together.

  • Warm Vanilla Sugar
    May 19, 2015

    This buttermilk bread sounds so delicious. Love the poppyseeds in there!

  • Kathryn
    May 19, 2015

    Seeing as I really don’t like banana in any form, I’ve often wondered if it’s possible to make ‘banana bread’ out of other breads and now I have an answer! I love the sound of this so much and it’s simply stunning. This is totally my kind of bread.

  • Grace
    May 19, 2015

    Girl, you’ve got the entire rest of the summer to make tacos and fizzy floats. Dark and moody downpours are few and far between this time of year – at least on my side of the country. Perfect weather for a lovely, cozy bread like this one. Gorgeous styling, always!

    • Shellywest
      Grace
      May 19, 2015

      Ha true true! Hopefully it’ll be nice this coming long weekend for fizzy float fun! You are the best, Grace!

  • Millie | Add A Little
    May 19, 2015

    This is so beautiful! Love the texture of the poppyseeds and the sweetness of the strawberry!

    • Shellywest
      Millie | Add A Little
      May 19, 2015

      Thanks, Millie! The extra crunch from the poppyseeds really makes this bread!

  • erin {yummy supper}
    May 20, 2015

    Shelly, what a gorgeous blog you have here!! How has it taken me so long to find you? Thanks so much for stopping by Yummy Supper so that I could come your way.
    xo
    Erin

  • Friday Favorites | Gringalicious
    May 22, 2015

    […] that me and my mom used to get at the Cheesecake Factory. I really want to try it this week. This Strawberry & Poppyseed Buttermilk Bread is so beautiful. I want to make it right this second! Some fun ideas for summer if (or those of us […]

  • Hannah
    May 31, 2015

    This looks amazing. I am really fascinated by the idea of putting pureed strawberries in there in place of banana! I wonder how many other fruits this would work with too?! *brain explosion*

  • Tania Sheff
    October 20, 2015

    Wow! What an amazing bread! A slice of this goodness and a coffee makes a perfect breakfast!

  • Garden Harvest Vegetable Bread
    July 11, 2016

    […] Strawberry Poppyseed Buttermilk Bread […]

  • Zestful Kitchen
    April 13, 2017

    This sounds delicious! I love how you are adding pureed strawberries, great idea!

  • Paula
    June 15, 2018

    I made this yesterday and it was wonderful! I loved that it was just the right amount of sweet! Strawberries have been on sale a lot lately and I knew I wanted to try this recipe out. I added more lemon zest because lemon poppyseed cake is one of my favorite combinations! I have had it with tea and it is divine. Thanks for another wonderful fruit loaf option! I’d never seen a strawberry loaf before, but I will be making it again. 🙂

  • malou
    July 18, 2018

    This is a cake NOT bread! It should be called what it is.

    • Shellywest
      malou
      July 18, 2018

      This is a quick bread similar to banana bread. Official definition of quick bread: A quick bread is a culinary term for a bread like product that uses baking soda or baking powder, instead of yeast, to leaven it. The texture of a quick bread is very different from a yeast bread. A quick bread has more of a muffin like texture.

      Hope that helps!

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