Just like apples shouldn’t get all the crisp and crumble love, bananas shouldn’t get all the quick bread love. Pears are ready to step right up and show you just how tasty they can be. Have ripe pears? Make a Pear Ginger Crumble. Have overripe pears? Don’t throw them out! Make a Pear Bread! And, though the bread is awesome all by itself, totally make the streusel topping. SO GOOD.
This pear bread is brought to you by the rest of the pears I bought for the crumble.
Even though we all like eating pears out of hand, no baked goods needed, we didn’t think about them while they got softer and softer. Which left me with a whole pile of overripe pears and a whole pile of baking to do!
Luckily, I have a variety of different quick breads in my repertoire, so then the questions were yogurt/buttermilk/or sour cream, streusel or not, chop or puree, and what sort of sweetener.
When I made the Bourbon Pecan Banana Bread, I used sour cream. This time I had some buttermilk in the fridge, so buttermilk it was.
Streusel makes a fun addition to the recipe so streusel was a yes.
Chop and puree is the answer!
And, as I mentioned in my Pear Crumble recipe, I’m trying to move away from granulated sugar while reducing sugar in general, so the answer there was a little maple syrup in the bread in place of granulated.
What I ended up with is a bread that is soft, moist, full of pear flavor, and lightly sweetened. Just the thing to have with a cup of coffee in the morning. Or for a snack any time of the day.
Next time you have a few pears in the soft and squishy phase of life but before the too far gone phase, make a pear bread! A few minutes of your time and you’ll have a loaf or two to enjoy.
If you try my recipe for a Pear Quick Bread, I would love to hear from you in the comments with your experience and rating! And Iām happy to answer any questions you might have.
You can connect with me by subscribing to my emails (see the form in the sidebar or below the recipe card), liking my FACEBOOK page, or by following me on PINTEREST.
– Happy Baking, Annemarie
Pear Quick Bread with Streusel Topping
Ingredients
- 3 medium pears, 1 1/2 cups chopped
- 1 cup whole wheat flour, I use King Arthur Flour white whole wheat
- 1 cup white all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp table salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1/2 tsp powdered ginger
- 2/3 cup buttermilk
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla
Streusel Topping
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp light brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp powdered ginger
- 1/4 tsp table salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan and set aside.
- Peel pears. Chop the pears into 1/2 inch dice. Take 1/2 cup of the chopped pear and mash it well until it's basically pureed.
- In a large bowl, mix together wheat flour, white flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, butter, eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla. Stir in chopped pears and pear puree. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and combine with a large spatula until just mixed together.
- Add all streusel ingredients to a bowl and mix with your fingers until until well combined and there is no dry flour left.
- Using the spatula, scrape the pear batter into the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle the streusel over the top, patting it down to push it into the batter a little. This will help it adhere to the bread.
- Bake the bread for 45 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 325F and bake for 15 minutes more. Allow the bread to cool for 1 hour on a rack. Then run a butter knife around the edges and carefully take the bread out of the loaf pan.
Ćlodie says
I accidentally mashed all the pears for this one but it turned out great! Didnāt have any eggs so used a vinegar/baking soda substitute for one egg and 1/4 mashed banana for the other egg. I didnāt have milk, sour cream or buttermilk so I used yogurt! š I added some cardamom just for fun, and for the streusel I didnāt have pecans so used walnuts, and added some oats for fun, and used a stevia molasses erytheratol light brown sugar I found at Walmart! Itās cooling right now and looks so good! It rose really well. I personally donāt like things super sweet but I did add chocolate chips to the batter, and honey to the streusel! I love recipes like these that are easy to play around with! Thanks for posting:)
Joann says
I had the several ripe pears left over from a photo shoot and this recipe sounded really good. The only negative was a certain lack of sweetness in the cake itself. Canāt taste the maple sugar at all. Doesnāt need a lot, but does need some more sugar. I also added some cardamom in place of the ginger and allspice.
cheryl coulam says
Guess I thought the spices, etc. would make up for the lack of sweetness….but I really missed it being more sweet and I thought it had too much allspice for me. I think it would be a great recipe if I fixed those couple of things…at least for me.
Lauren says
I decided to make this recipe into muffins and they’re cooling now. The dough was yummy (I live dangerously) and they look great! I forecast my three littles really enjoying them for breakfast.
BTW, it only took 20 minutes to have the toothpick come out clean.
My only modifications were to only use white flour and to substitute the buttermilk for whole milk vanilla yogurt. I also doubled it and ended up with 42 muffins.
justalittlebitofbacon says
Muffins seem to be the way to go right now. š These will be a great breakfast for your littles.
MaryClare James says
Excellent recipe! I had some overripe pears and happily found your solution. For me it was the perfect amount of sweetness- I donāt need/like recipes that are very sweet. Clever use of maple syrupš
Being keen on the nutty taste and benefits of flaxseed, I added some to your recipe.and I also made this in cupcake papers and tins to make muffins. I find that not only do they cook faster, but I also lose less in the crummy process of slicing the loaf.
My ideas are not a big deal, just some minor variations on a delightful recipe – a wonderful way to avoid tossing some āvery matureā organic pears.
justalittlebitofbacon says
Great ideas! I enjoy turning quick breads into muffins and vice versa. š
Cara says
Did I miss the sugar? I made this and it worked perfectly (looks great, rose in the oven, moist, slipped out of the pan beautifully), but it’s very plain and almost salty. Can I add sugar to the recipe and not screw it up?
justalittlebitofbacon says
Did you add the maple syrup? That’s the sugar in the recipe. And, yes, you can add some more syrup or granulated sugar if you prefer it sweeter.
Cara Sandquist says
Yep, I definitely added the syrup. I’ll try some granulated next time – still have more pears!
justalittlebitofbacon says
I guess I’ve always made it with REALLY sweet pears! Maybe some soft butter and cinnamon sugar on the slices this time to sweeten it up?
Rosalie says
can i substitute white flour for the whole wheat flour?
justalittlebitofbacon says
Certainly! I like the flavor and extra nutrition but whole wheat isn’t necessary to the success of the recipe. I hope that helps!
Annie says
Made this exactly as you wrote it (except subbed milk/lemon juice for buttermilk), and ur came out perfectly! Might have to make another loaf since I still have more pears!
justalittlebitofbacon says
Great! Iām glad you enjoyed the bread. š
sherrin says
I was not sure where to put the 1/2 c of pureed pears or the maple syrup so I put both into the streusel. Was that right bc the recipe does not say where they go?
justalittlebitofbacon says
The streusel ingredients are all listed separately so that is what goes in the streusel. š I did update the recipe to make it clear that the pear puree is included in the pears which go in the bread.
justalittlebitofbacon says
I’m so sorry! I always triple check, but sometimes typos sneak through. 6T is indeed too much. Thank you for letting me know so I could fix the recipe.
Jag Ryan says
I tried this. It is really not good and I had to throw it out. Bland, stuck to the pan, and gritty texture from the whole wheat flour and the pears.
justalittlebitofbacon says
While I have enjoyed this recipe on many occasions, it seems it was not the recipe for you. I would suggest that you not bake with whole wheat or pears since you don’t seem to like them and get new pans so you don’t have to worry about your quick breads sticking in the future.
Shadi says
I love pear! This bread is just so perfect for rainy days with a cup of tea!
justalittlebitofbacon says
Thanks! I agree. It would be lovely with a cup of tea, a rainy day, and a book.
Gloria says
Quick breads are so awesome, and I can honestly say I have never made one out of pears before. It sounds wonderful.
justalittlebitofbacon says
I never had either but now I wonder why not. I hope you try it! š
Christie says
Love that you used pears to make bread. It is something I don’t see a lot and my family would adore it.
justalittlebitofbacon says
Thanks! I had never considered a pear quick bread before but now I wonder why not since it was so good. š
Peter says
Can’t go wrong when topped with struessel!
justalittlebitofbacon says
I can’t argue with that. š
Mahy says
Oh this would make my morning so much better! Wish I can grab a slice right off the screen! Love how soft and fluffy this looks! And the pears–my favorite fruit to bake with! Thanks for sharing š
justalittlebitofbacon says
I wish I could share! I love pears but I usually just eat them so I’ve been enjoying baking with them.