Description
Spiced peach bread brings Southern comfort and sweet warmth to your kitchen. Summer’s juicy peaches mingle with aromatic spices, creating a tender loaf that celebrates seasonal abundance and homestyle baking delights you’ll savor with each delectable slice.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients:
- 2 cups diced peaches, skin on (about 3 small peaches)
- 1 ¾ cups cake flour (or all-purpose flour)
- 1 cup (2 sticks / 226 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
Spices and Seasonings:
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Liquid Ingredient:
- ½ cup cultured buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon coarse sparkling sugar (or granulated/raw sugar for sprinkling)
Instructions
- Thoroughly coat a 9×5-inch loaf pan with butter and line with parchment paper, creating extended edges for easy removal.
- Utilize a stand mixer to blend brown sugar and butter, whipping until achieving a cloud-like, uniform texture with zero sugar granules.
- Incorporate eggs methodically, introducing one at a time and integrating completely between additions, creating a silky, voluminous mixture.
- In a separate vessel, meticulously combine flour, baking powder, salt, and warm spices – cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves – using a whisk to eliminate potential lumps.
- Gradually introduce dry ingredient mixture into the creamed butter blend, alternating with buttermilk, mixing gently to maintain batter’s delicate structure.
- Delicately fold freshly diced peaches into the batter, ensuring even distribution without disrupting the airy consistency.
- Transfer batter into prepared pan, smoothing surface with a spatula and generously garnish with coarse sparkling sugar for textural contrast.
- Position pan on center oven rack, baking for approximately 50-55 minutes until bread rises majestically and a toothpick reveals moist, but not wet, crumbs.
- Allow bread to rest in pan for 10 minutes, then extract using parchment paper handles, permitting cooling either warm or completely before slicing.
Notes
- Versatile Breakfast or Dessert: This spiced peach bread works beautifully as a morning treat or an afternoon sweet companion.
- Make-Ahead Friendly: The bread stays moist for 3-4 days when wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
- Seasonal Flexibility: Use fresh summer peaches when in season, or substitute with frozen peaches that have been thawed and well-drained.
- Texture Tip: Coarse sparkling sugar creates a delightful crunchy top layer that adds visual appeal and textural contrast.
- Spice Balance: The combination of cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves creates a warm, complex flavor profile that complements the sweet peaches.
- Storage Suggestion: For longer preservation, freeze individual slices wrapped in plastic and placed in a freezer bag for up to 2 months.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Category: Breakfast, Snacks, Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8
- Calories: 400
- Sugar: 22g
- Sodium: 210mg
- Fat: 21g
- Saturated Fat: 13g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 50g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 85mg