***UPDATE*** I made a gluten-free version of this bread for my Dil-ly (daughter-in-law - love you) by simply swapping the regular flour with the same amount of Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-To-1 Baking Flour and gluten-free baking powder. It turned out great!!!
It's soooo good! And, I wish you could have smelled the aroma while it was baking!
I guess I need to backtrack a bit... I wanted to make a treat for a dear friend, as I knew this would be a tough day for him. After giving him some banana bread a month or so ago, I decided to try something new this time. This Strawberry Bread recipe did not disappoint!
By the way - this post is a twofer!
Starting off, I knew I wanted to make two loaves of bread - one for my friend and one for our sweet first-responder neighbors. After cutting up three containers of strawberries, I realized I was out of vanilla extract - except for the bottle I made many months ago (recipe to follow). I wasn't sure how well my homemade recipe would compare to store-bought vanilla, so I decided to make a loaf of bread for my hubby and I first to check out the taste.
Our loaf of Strawberry Bread passed the taste test with flying colors, so I went on to make the two loaves I had planned for.
Then, I discovered I had enough strawberries for one more loaf, so Bart will get to share it with his work buddies tomorrow!
I must thank Lizzie T at Tastes of Lizzie T for this winning recipe. Thanks for this wonderful recipe, Lizzie! You can find her original recipe here: https://www.tastesoflizzyt.com/strawberry-bread/
Strawberry Bread
Ingredients:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup milk (* I used Almond Milk)
1/2 cup oil
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract or almond extract (*I used 1 Tbsp of my homemade vanilla extract)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups diced strawberries
*2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Directions:
Mix together the sugar, milk, oil, egg, and vanilla extract. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix until combined.
Sprinkle the *2 Tbsp of flour over the diced strawberries to coat. This will prevent the fruit from settling to the bottom of the bread.
Fold the strawberries into the batter. Spray loaf pan with nonstick spray, and line the pan with parchment paper for easy removal of the baked loaf. Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan.
Good luck on waiting for the loaf to cool completely! I only lasted about two minutes before taking my first bite!
Optional Glaze Topping (I felt the bread was sweet enough as is and didn't add the glaze - which also saved a few precious calories.)
Ingredients:
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/3 cup finely diced strawberries
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or almond extract
1-2 tablespoons heavy cream or milk
Directions:
Combine powdered sugar, melted butter, diced strawberries, and extract. Mix until smooth. When the bread is cool, spread the glaze on top.
...Now, for the twofer!
Homemade Vanilla Extract
This recipe is from Sally at Sally's Baking Addiction: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/homemade-vanilla-extract/ Thanks, Sally!
Ingredients:
Vanilla Beans: 5-6 per 8 ounces of vodka
Vodka: 80 proof
Directions:
Slit the beans and drop into the vodka. I used an entire bottle of vodka, so there was no need to cut the beans to make them fit. Turn your bottle over daily to gently mix contents, and be patient! It will take 6-12 months for your vanilla extract to mature.
*Note - I've found that it's much less expensive to purchase vanilla beans from Amazon than from a local grocery store.* My huge bottle of extract should save us money over the long run.
I hope you take a little time to make your own strawberry bread and enjoy its sweet taste and aroma. And, please remember that kindness has the power to change the world!
That looks delicious and beautiful. Lucky friends!