Strawberry Almond Bread

A delicious home made Strawberry Almond Bread.

Here in Minnesota June and July are Strawberry picking months. Families often have an outing to the Strawberry patch to pick their own berries but we also have many Farmers Markets available for fresh picked produce.

There is nothing like fresh, sweet, juicy Strawberries!  I make a lot of dishes with fresh Strawberries at this time of year. One of my other favorites is Apple Strawberry Applesauce.

If you have an abundance of fresh Strawberries on hand, give this recipe a try. You can serve this bread for breakfast or brunch and it is also great just to snack on.

STRAWBERRY ALMOND BREAD

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Fresh Strawberries, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 Cup Unsalted Butter, softened
• 3 Eggs
• 1/3 Cup Chopped Almonds
• 1/2 Teaspoon Almond Extract
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 2 Cups Flour
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 Cup Almond Milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 5 loaf pan with non stick baking spray and set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, using a handheld mixer, blend the Butter then add the Eggs in one at a time until combined.

3. Add the Almond Extract to the Butter mixture then slowly add the Sugar as you continue to mix with the handheld mixer, until it is light and fluffy.

4. In a medium size bowl, stir together the Salt and Flour.

5. Slowly stir in 1/2 Cup of the Flour mixture into the Butter mixture. Then add in the Almond Milk followed by the remaining Flour. Use a good wooden spoon to incorporate all the ingredients to form a batter.

6. Now fold in the Almonds and Strawberries.

7. Spoon the Batter into the prepared pan.

8. Bake for 1 Hour and 10 Minutes.

9. When cooking sweet breads such as this, the good old toothpick in the center method isn’t always a good indicator to tell if this type of Bread is done. Try using an internal thermometer and look for a temp of around 190-200 Degrees. Also look for the Bread to be golden to medium brown. If your Bread starts getting too brown, and you haven’t reached the proper internal temperature, simply put a foil tent over the Bread to prevent excessive browning. Trust me, you do not want a gooey center in your Bread! It may look perfect on the outside but you definitely don’t want to serve a loaf of Bread with a gooey, uncooked center.

Don’t worry about cracks in the top of the Bread. That often happens when making this type of Bread. It gives it a true rustic, homemade look.

10. Once your Bread is done, remove it from the oven and let it cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes. Then remove it from the pan and allow it to completely cool on a rack.

11. Once your Bread has completely cooled, you are ready to slice and serve! Serve this with a side of Sweet Cream Butter or even a Lemon Curd.

Recipe by: Hot Dish Homemaker