Simple, delicious Glazed Strawberry Bread

Glazed Strawberry Bread comes together easily to create an impressively delicious dessert. Recipe below.

DON’T YOU LOVE IT when a recipe is way easier to make than it tastes? This simple Glazed Strawberry Bread is exactly that.

We made it recently when we were having company over. This lovely, cakey bread was so good, we all had seconds. It also has a nice homey look—no pastry bag needed, you just drizzle the three-ingredient icing over it. All in all, it’s a delicious, cozy treat that isn’t pinkies-up fancy. The sweet fresh strawberries get a citrusy little kick from orange extract in the icing and the dough (see why we chose extract instead of orange juice in the Kitchen Notes).

Best of all, or maybe equally best, it is so easy to make. You don’t even need a mixer, just a whisk and a wooden spoon. As summery strawberries are coming into season, this may be our favorite new way to use them.

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Glazed Strawberry Bread

Glazed Strawberry Bread comes together easily to create an impressively delicious dessert.

Course Dessert

Servings 10 to 12 slices

Equipment

• 8x4 loaf pan, well buttered

Ingredients

For the bread:

• 2 cups plus 1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup grapeseed oil or other neutral-flavored oil
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon orange extract (see Kitchen Notes)
• 1-1/2 cups chopped fresh strawberries (don't use frozen—see Kitchen Notes)
• butter, for coating the loaf pan

For the icing:

• 2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted to remove any lumps
• 4 teaspoons milk
• 1/4 teaspoon orange extract

Instructions

• About an hour before you’re ready to bake, take the egg, milk and berries out of the fridge and let them come to room temperature.
• When you are ready to get started, preheat the oven to 350ºF. Put 2 cups of the flour into a large bowl (save the remaining tablespoon for coating the berries). Add the baking soda, baking powder, and the salt, and stir with a fork to combine. Set this bowl aside.
• Break the egg into a medium-sized bowl and whisk it lightly. if the brown sugar is lumpy, pass it through a coarse sieve to break it up. Add both the sugars and the buttermilk to the bowl and stir together until everything is just combined. Stir in the oil and the extracts.
• Hull and coarsely chop the strawberries, then toss them with the last tablespoon of flour. This will help keep the bread from becoming soggy.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until everything is smooth and barely combined, without lumps. Working gently, fold in the fruit, then gently spoon the batter into the buttered loaf pan. Smooth the top and put the pan in the hot oven. This strawberry bread is done when the top is nicely golden and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, with just a few tiny crumbs—it may take up to 75 minutes depending on your oven, but start checking at 55 minutes.
• Set the pan on a rack to cool, carefully turning it out of the pan onto the rack after about ten minutes.
• Let the bread cool completely, then carefully move it to a serving plate and make the icing: quickly whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, milk and orange extract until it becomes a smooth, rather thick liquid (which happens fast). Spoon the liquid icing on top of the bread. Let it set for a few minutes and that's it. You're done. The bread is ready to slice and serve. This is great with a sparkling rosé, or a nice cup of coffee or, if you are me, a glass of nice cold buttermilk. To store it, wrap in foil. It will keep safely for two days at room temperature and, in theory, six or seven days in the fridge, but let's be real—you’re going to polish it off before that.

Kitchen Notes

Can I freeze this? Yes! Just let it cool first, don't ice it, and wrap very tightly. (Ice it once it’s thawed out.)

Extract or juice? Orange juice is acid-based and can be tart. Orange extract is made from soaking orange peel in alcohol; it delivers a strong orange flavor without the tartness. It’s also concentrated—a half teaspoon of extract equals one tablespoon of juice. So go with the extract.

Can I use frozen berries? Please don't. The bread will be too soggy.

How about other fruits? To be honest, we haven’t tried this yet with other fruits, but this summer, we’re going to try it with ripe peaches.