Whenever I bake with pears, I can’t help but feel like I’m making the sophisticated version of whatever is the apple dessert equivalent. Pears have all the autumnal qualities of apples but taste far more complex instead of just a one-note sweetness. This pear bread recipe is the perfect example. It creates two cinnamon-spiced, cushion-soft loaves, dappled with sweet, tart and tender pieces of pears. It’s like eating a refined fall dessert from a restaurant, especially if there’s a dollop of hazelnut whipped cream on top of each slice.
Ingredients for Pear Bread
- Eggs: To safely bring your eggs to room temperature, take them out of the fridge about 30 minutes before starting this recipe.
- Sugar: You’ll need 1-1/2 cups of granulated sugar to sweeten this pear bread recipe.
- Vegetable oil: Instead of butter, vegetable oil keeps the pear bread’s crumb moist and tender for longer.
- Vanilla extract: Use a store-bought vanilla extract or make your own vanilla extract at home.
- All-purpose flour: Double check that you’re measuring flour the right way so your pear bread doesn’t turn out soggy or dry.
- Leavening agents: Be sure your baking soda and baking powder haven’t expired, or else the batter won’t rise into two beautiful loaves.
- Cinnamon: Pear’s sweet-yet-tart flavor and cinnamon’s warming sweetness make a beautiful fall pairing.
- Pears: You’ll need about four medium pears for this pear bread recipe. Pears’ best season is from August to October.
- Lemon juice: Use one teaspoon of fresh (not bottled) lemon juice for the best refreshing, brightening flavor.
- Walnuts: One cup of chopped walnuts creates texture in the pear bread. Toast the nuts beforehand to awaken the walnut’s nutty flavor.
Directions
Step 1: Create the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a bowl, whisk together the room-temperature eggs, granulated sugar, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture just until moistened.
Step 2: Add the pears and walnuts
In a bowl, toss the pears with the lemon juice. Use a rubber spatula to fold the pears and walnuts into the batter. The batter will be thick.
Step 3: Bake
Divide the batter evenly among two greased 9×5-inch loaf pans. Bake the bread until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes. Cool the loaves at room temperature for 10 minutes. Remove the loaves from the pans and transfer them to wire racks.
Recipe Variations
- Grate in orange zest: While the lemon juice brightens this pear bread recipe, orange pairs particularly well with pears as they’re both sweet with a small hint of tart. Grate orange zest into the pear bread batter to include this vibrant citrus fruit.
- Play up the fall flavors: Pears pair (ha!) immensely well with a myriad of warm fall baking spices. Along with the cinnamon, add ground nutmeg, cardamom and allspice. Ground ginger’s zippiness cannot be missed with pear’s aromatic flavor.
- Finish with a glaze drizzle: A simple, quick vanilla glaze turns this pear bread recipe into more of a dessert. How can we say no to that?
- Pack on a streusel topping: To jazz up pear bread with more texture, add a streusel topping. Mix up the streusel from our apple pear coffee cake; sprinkle over the bread batter and bake as directed. If the streusel begins to brown too quickly, tent the loaf with a sheet of foil until the end of the baking time.
- Sub pears for apples: Apples are a terrific substitute for the pears in this recipe. Berries and stone fruits (like plums or peaches) would be too soft and yield too much juice.
How to Store Pear Bread
To store pear bread so it stays nice and moist, first let it cool to room temp, then wrap it in storage wrap. Storing the loaf in an airtight container is also a smart option to prevent it from drying out. Keep pear bread out at room temperature for up to four days.
Can you freeze pear bread?
Yes, you can freeze pear bread. Once the bread has baked and is completely cooled to room temperature, wrap it tightly in storage wrap, then place it in an airtight freezer-safe container and freeze for up to three months.
Pear Bread Recipe Tips
What kinds of pears are best for baking pear bread?
The best types of pears for baking are Anjou, Asian pears, Bosc and Concorde for their firm texture and sweet taste.
What other pan can I use to bake this pear bread?
This pear bread recipe makes two 9×5-inch loaf pans. If you’re like me and only own one 9×5-inch pan, don’t worry! Instead, bake half the batter in a 9×5-inch loaf pan, and bake the other half in an 11×7-inch pan, a 9-inch square pan or a 10-inch Bundt pan.
If you want to pass out pear bread loaves to friends and family, this pear bread recipe can be baked into six 5-3/4 x 3-inch mini loaf pans.
