Pear Bread

November 30, 2022November 23, 2022 New You

Poached Pear Bread combines sweet fruit and tender quick bread together in one pan. This bread is remarkably easy to make and you can take it to the table and slice it to reveal the lovely pear inside.

Poached Pear Bread

Ingredients

4 cups water
2 cups granulated sugar
3 small whole pears
1 1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
7.88 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 3/4 cups)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup stout beer (such as Guinness)
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
1/4 cup maple syrup
Baking spray with flour (such as Baker’s Joy)

Tips

For this recipe you can try any quick bread recipe you like; you may need to bake it longer – about 5 or 10 additional minutes.
After poaching the pears, don’t throw out the poaching liquid. It’s infused with a lovely pear essence and would be great in cocktails, drizzled on pound cake, or stirred into Greek yoghurt.
For more flavour in the pears, you can add cinnamon sticks or star anise to the poaching liquid.

Method

Preheat oven to 350°.
Bring 4 cups water and granulated sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan.
Add pears; reduce heat to medium, and cook at a medium-low boil for 5 minutes or just until pears start to soften.
Remove pears from pan; cool slightly.
Trim bottom off each pear so that it is about the height of a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Lightly brush 1 1/2 teaspoons flour over bottom 2/3 of each pear.
Weigh or lightly spoon 7.88 ounces (about 1 3/4 cups) flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.
Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, stirring well with a whisk.
Place butter and brown sugar in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until well blended.
Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
Combine beer, sour cream, and syrup, stirring well with a whisk.
Beating at low speed, add flour mixture and beer mixture alternately to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat just until combined.
Scrape batter into a 9 x 5-inch metal loaf pan coated with baking spray.
Arrange pears in pan, pressing into batter.
Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the centre comes out with moist crumbs clinging.
Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack.
Remove from pan; cool completely on wire rack.

Serves 14 – Serving size: 1 slice – Nutrition Per Serving
Calories 198, Fat 6g, Protein 3g, Carbohydrate 34g, Fibre 1g