Sweet And Easy Pear Bread Recipe

When it comes to baking with pears, you might be familiar with pear crisp, or perhaps a decadent pear upside-down cake. But pears might be at their best when baked into a simple loaf. Our sweet and easy pear bread, brought to us by recipe developer Catherine Brookes, is made with only a handful of simple pantry staples and a few ripe pears. This bread is a breeze to whip up and a joy to eat.

This quick bread, which has a moist, tender crumb, is delicately spiced with cinnamon, and filled with juicy morsels of fresh pear. It's a delicious flavor combination that results in a rather moreish loaf. Preparing this easy recipe is a case of simply mixing up the batter, folding through the diced pears for those pockets of fruity goodness, and popping everything in a loaf pan. But we're not quite done there — the final step before baking is to top the batter with slices of whole pear for extra sweetness and a beautiful presentation. 

After the bread bakes for an hour or so, you'll be greeted with a golden-brown loaf that smells like pure comfort. Let it cool, then slice and enjoy. This pear bread is perfect for breakfast, brunch, or anytime you need a pick-me-up.

Preheat the oven to 350 F and line an 8x4-inch loaf pan with a loaf pan liner.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, sugars, and vanilla extract.

Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients. Whisk until just combined.

Core and finely dice two of the pears.

Add the diced pears to the mixing bowl and fold until just combined.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared loaf pan.

Bake for one hour, or until a skewer poked into the pear bread comes out clean.

Cool before slicing and serving.

One of the wonderful things about this recipe is how versatile it is, and you can experiment with adding different fruits to the batter. Though pears are a fantastic option in terms of both flavor and texture, there's plenty of room for creativity with other fruits. The basic mixture that's whipped up before you add the diced pears is a solid foundation for many varieties of fruit bread. Being quite thick, it's great for holding chunks of fruits or even whole berries, resulting in a loaf where everything is nicely distributed and the fruit doesn't sink to the bottom.

To mix things up, try substituting the pears with other fruits such as apples, peaches, raspberries, or blueberries. Each fruit will bring its own unique flavor profile and texture, adding a delicious twist to the classic moist, tender bread base. For firmer fruits like apples or peaches, you may want to peel them before adding them to the batter. Softer fruits like berries can be folded directly into the mixture. For a fresher flavor to accompany berries, you can add a little lemon zest or substitute it for the cinnamon.