So what do you do when you have heaps of frozen blueberries sitting around? I mean, I suppose I can keep them frozen, it’s not like they’re going bad any time soon. But, what I really mean to say, is when I have berries sitting in my freezer, I still want to eat them! I’ve been in a blueberry frenzy, from blueberry smoothies to blueberry pies. But I’m a-okay with that! Let’s blueberr-ify everything haha.
The next progression in this blueberry phase would be to make a blueberry quick-bread. Quick breads can be in large loaves, or smaller muffins, or even tinier mini loaves! Mini loaves are just the perfect size for snacking on – so try it out when you have guests over. You don’t feel bad about eating multiple and no need to cut a muffin in half either. Seriously, buy one of these 12 mini-loaf pans. Game changer.
This muffin-loaf recipe is amazing because it’s the softest, moistest bread you’ll ever eat. Yogurt is one of the best ingredients to keep moisture in breads. And I cannot overemphasize how great it is.
Okay, so a super helpful tip that I oversaw when I first began baking is that frozen berries (especially blueberries) are much different than fresh berries. When you mix in the berries, they tend to leave streaks of color, and if you mix too much, then your bread becomes an ugly grey-blue. That’s why it’s important to remember to put the berries in and coat them with the flour mixture before adding the wet mixture. And then carefully mix everything together. A few streaks here and there is okay, cause then the bright berry color is concentrated and beautifully striking.
So give it a try! Make some mini loaves, or if you so wish, make a giant loaves or muffins. Double the recipe for a full 10-12 muffin recipe or loaf.
Blueberry Mini Loaves
Ingredients
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup frozen blueberries (fresh works too)
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt (or sour cream)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375ºF and grease a mini-loaf pan.
- Mix together the flour and baking soda in a medium bowl.
- Put the frozen berries in the flour mixture, and toss until berries are well coated.
- In a smaller bowl, mix together the wet ingredients(butter, sugar, egg, yogurt, vanilla extract) until combined.
- Make a well in the flour-berry mixture and pour wet mixture into the flour mixture.
- Using a spatula, gently fold the batter until mixed. Be careful not to over mix so that the batter does not get discolored from the berries.
- Spoon the batter into the loaf molds, about 3/4 full. Batter will make about 10 loaves.
- [Optional] Sprinkle sugar on top of the loaves for a crisper topping.
- Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown on top.
Notes
- Recipe adapted from Stonyfield Farm
- You can use other flavors of yogurt as well, though plain and vanilla work best
- Any kind of berry would work, but recommend strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries. Blackberries tend to be seedier and harder.
- Butter is best when softened to room temperature. But if in a hurry, microwave in a small bowl 15 seconds at a time to make sure it doesn’t over heat and boil over.
- Double recipe to make a 8in loaf or 12 regular sized muffins. Also increase the bake time to 50 minutes for loaf and 30 min for muffins.
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