Strawberry Quick Bread

Strawberries are my favorite fruit of all time. I could eat them plain, dipped in yogurt, mixed with other fruit, or even baked into bread. Speaking of baked into bread, that is what I have for you today. A delicious strawberry bread with flecks of almonds all throughout. The original recipe called for walnuts but I prefer almonds and think they compliment the strawberries perfectly.


This recipe was typical of any quick bread recipe that I have made before. Whisk the dry ingredients, blend the wet ingredients, mix the two together and bake for an hour. This bread was moist, delicious, and packed with strawberry flavor. I think next time I will add a dash of cinnamon and possibly even leave out the nutmeg.


Walnut-Strawberry Quick Bread
Source: The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion, The All-Purpose Baking Cookbook

Ingredients
1/2 cup (2 ounces) chopped walnuts
1 1/4 cups (6 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup (7 ounces) sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon lemon zest, or 1/4 teaspoon lemon oil
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) mashed strawberries
1/2 cup (2 1/2 ounces) vegetable oil

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350. Grease and flour a 9x5" loaf pan.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the walnuts, flour, sugar, soda, salt and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, eggs, strawberries, and vegetable oil. Combine the we ingredients with the dry ingredients, whisking until well blended.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the bread in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove it from the pan and transfer it to a rack to cool completely, 1 hour or longer. For best flavor and easiest slicing, wrap the bread while still slightly warm and let set overnight.