Peanut Butter Bread

This peanut butter bread from the great depression era is packed of creamy peanut butter flavor. This easy peanut butter bread recipe is as easy as it can get. The texture of the bread is moist and tender. This simple recipe requires a few easy ingredients and a simple method to put together. The individual slices of this quick bread are a great treat for breakfast or with a cup of tea and coffee.

I love incorporating peanut butter in my bakes especially in cookies such as Peanut Butter Cookies and Almond Flour Peanut Butter Cookies. During Covid days (thanks god it is behind us now) I got my hands on this 1932's recipe shared on Reddit that became popular during the quarantine in Pandemic. And oh man, did I love it like anything? I absolutely loved this easy quick bread, essentially the drool-worthy peanut butter bread recipe, and it was a great addition to my quick bread collection.

Do you like quick breads? Try my Banana Bread without Baking Soda, 4-Ingredient Banana Bread and Praline Apple Bread as well.

Why This Recipe Works?

• It is a 1930's recipe from depression era.
• You need few simple pantry staple ingredients. 
• This quick bread is packed with peanut butter flavor. 
• This delicious peanut butter bread is a simple bake. 
• You need one hour to bake this bread.
• Enjoy this moist quick bread in breakfast with a cup of tea of coffee.
• This bread is even better the next day as the flavor of the peanut butter is more infused.
• This is a perfect after-school snack for kids. 
• This is the best peanut butter treat.
• Enjoy the bread slices with a glass of milk.

Quick Bread

Quick breads are essentially a cross between a pound cake and a bread. Have a look at my quick bread recipes on the blog.

This peanut butter bread falls into the category of quick breads which means there is no use of yeast in making this bread that usually acts as a leavening agent in breads.

Quick breads are made with batter instead of the dough. Yeast breads made with dough are different in texture and crumb. 

Tip: Always make sure not to overmix the batter for quick breads or the bread will be tough in texture.

Great Depression Era Recipe

The Peanut Butter Bread recipe's origination is from the Great Depression Era in the 1930's. In recent times the recipe re-emerged after a Reddit post went viral in 2019. Many home bakers like myself stuck in the Pandemic liked the idea and tried it and found it to be worthy of all the praise. Let's be honest - who doesn’t like peanut butter? And what better way to infuse it into a quick bread.

This recipe was found in a great depression-era cookbook and was one of the easy quick bread recipe that took the world by surprise, a pleasant one. This loaf of bread is worth trying. 

Ingredients

Pro Tip # 1 - Room Temperature Ingredients
Always use room temperature ingredients (unless otherwise specified) for baking. Ingredients such as butter, eggs and other dairy ingredients like milk, sour cream, yogurt form an emulsion by trapping air inside the batter. The trapped air expands in the oven resulting in perfect baked treats.

• All-purpose flour: gives structure to this quick bread.
• Baking powder: leavening agent in this bake.
• Salt: balances the sugar and enhances the flavor.
• Butter: use unsalted butter for this recipe.
• Castor sugar: for sweetness.
• Peanut butter (chunky): the hero of this recipe. 
• Vanilla extract: adds aroma to this quick bread.
• Egg: binding agent in this bread.
• Peanuts: to sprinkle on the bake.

Pro Tip # 2 - Digital Scale
Use a digital scale to measure all-purpose flour and other dry ingredients. To measure with cup, fluff up the all-purpose flour container using a spoon, then scoop out the flour with spoon into the measuring cup. Never scoop out of the container. It may result in more flour than required resulting in dense bakes.

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray the baking nonstick spray to a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan and line with parchment paper in the bottom.
• In a large bowl sift together all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Whisk and set aside.
• In another large bowl using an electric mixer beat the butter with peanut butter, egg and vanilla until fluffy and creamy.
• Add the flour mixture and fold until mixed together.
• Pour the batter into the pan. Sprinkle the peanuts on the top before putting the pan in the middle rack of the oven.
• Bake for an hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean with a few crumbs.
• Cool the loaf in the pan for 10 minutes before moving it to a wire rack.

Variations

• Chocolate Chips: Feel free to add ½ cup of chocolate chips to the batter.
  
• Nuts: Add ½ cup walnuts or pecans in the batter to make the bread crunchier with nuts.
  
• Bananas: Make this bread with bananas. Simply add 2 mashed medium-sized ripe bananas in the mixture and you will get a banana peanut butter bread.
  
• Raisins: Add ½ cup of raisins in the batter if you are a fan of raisins.

Substitutions

• Almond Milk: Substitute the whole milk with an equal amount of almond milk or other nut or soy milk in this bread batter.

Expert Tips

Chunky Peanut Butter (full fat): It is important to use full fat chunky peanut butter for this recipe as it will give you a crunchy bite every time and the rich crumb will melt in your mouth. 

Sliding peanut butter easily: Spray the measuring cup with baking spray or nonstick spray before adding the peanut butter to it. It will help to slide out the peanut butter easily.

Stop browning of the top: Check the bread around 40 minutes and if the top is getting a dark brown color, cover it loosely with foil to continue baking without the top getting too brown.

Frequently Asked Questions

How To Store

• The peanut butter bread will stay fresh at room temperature for up to 4 days. I store the breads in an air-tight bread container.
  
• This peanut butter loaf will stay fresh in the fridge for up to a week.
  
• Freeze the bread by wrapping each piece in plastic wrap and further add a layer of aluminum foil to it. Place the slices in a ziplock bag or an airtight container.

Related

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