Blueberry Bread

Although you can make blueberry bread year-round, it’s an especially good summer treat when fresh blueberries are at their peak. Sweet and floral, blueberries are loaded with antioxidants called anthocyanins. Studies have shown that anthocyanins can reduce the risk of diseases, help lower cholesterol and high blood pressure, fight obesity and control blood sugar. No wonder blueberries are at the top of the superfoods list.

With all the added health benefits, you can feel good about a slice of blueberry bread for a busy morning breakfast, or treat your family to it for dessert. While fresh blueberry bread screams of summertime, there’s no reason to keep it seasonal. Take advantage of frozen berries during the winter, and bake yourself a dose of sweet and tangy blueberry bread. It will certainly bring a little brightness to your day.

Ingredients for Blueberry Bread

• Flour: This recipe uses all-purpose flour, which has a protein content between cake flour and bread flour. If you’re new to baking our guide to types of flour explains how different flours impact the final product.
• Sugar: White granulated sugar brings a subtle sweetness to the blueberry bread.
• Baking powder and baking soda: Baking powder is a rising agent that shares its main ingredient—sodium bicarbonate—with baking soda, but baking powder has additional additives that help the process. Baking soda is 100% sodium bicarbonate, which produces carbon dioxide (gas bubbles) when combined with an acid. This reaction also gives rise to the bread. That’s the difference between baking soda and baking powder.
• Egg: One large egg adds structure to the bread. Make sure to bring the egg to room temperature before adding it to the batter.
• Orange juice: Using orange juice for the liquid will give the bread sweet, tangy citrus overtones and help keep it moist during baking.
• Butter: Melting the butter before adding it to the batter reduces its water content, producing a more desirable texture.
• Blueberries: Fresh or frozen blueberries will both work, but if they’re in season and you can get them from a local grower or farmers market, opt for fresh.

Directions

Step 1: Start the batter

Preheat the oven to 325°F. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of flour, the sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda.

Step 2: Mix the wet ingredients

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg and orange juice together. While stirring, add in the melted butter.

Step 3: Combine the wet and dry ingredients

Slowly pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients, stirring until just moistened to form a batter.

Step 4: Add the blueberries

Toss the blueberries with the remaining flour, then fold them into the batter.

Step 5: Bake the blueberry bread

Pour the batter into a greased 8×4-inch loaf pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 60 to 65 minutes. Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing it to a wire rack to cool completely.

Blueberry Bread Variations

• Try it gluten-free: You can make this recipe gluten-free by subbing in your favorite gluten-free flour 1-to-1. Check out our gluten-free baking guide if you don’t have a go-to brand.
• Make it zesty: Add some lemon or orange zest to bring out more of the citrus flavors and add a bit of color to the blueberry bread. Or try this lemon blueberry bread recipe.
• Give it a glaze: To make it more of a dessert, consider topping the blueberry bread with a lemon glaze or cream cheese frosting.

How to Store Blueberry Bread

After the bread cools completely, it can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic for three to four days.

Can you freeze blueberry bread?

Yes, you can. After the bread cools completely, wrap it in plastic and then foil and store it in a zip-top freezer bag for three to four months. When you’re ready to eat it, thaw the bread overnight in the refrigerator.

Blueberry Bread Tips

How do I keep the blueberries from sinking?

There are a couple tricks to keeping berries from sinking to the bottom of your batter in blueberry bread recipes. The first is to coat the blueberries in flour before folding them in. The flour surrounding the berries will absorb some of the liquid from the batter, making the blueberries more likely to stay in place. Another method is to layer the batter and blueberries separately into the bread pan, instead of folding the berries into the batter.

How do I keep frozen blueberries from bleeding into the batter?

If you’re using frozen blueberries, thoroughly rinse them before adding them. Pat the berries dry with a paper towel before folding them into the batter to avoid increasing the moisture content.

Should I thaw frozen blueberries before adding them?

There is a lot of debate on this one. If you’re worried about the berries bleeding too much into the bread, it’s a good idea to thaw them first and then rinse them thoroughly until no color is running off. However, the freezing and thawing of delicate fruit, like berries, can cause the skins to become soft and easily break apart. In this case, you must be careful when adding them or they’ll break and bleed into the batter. I advise giving them a quick rinse and adding them whole and frozen.