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For as long as I can remember my Grandma has made loaves and loaves of this A to Z Quick Bread. I don’t think she could even make an accurate guess on how many loaves she has made over so many years! I have memories of crawling up on Grandpa’s lap and him sharing a warm buttered piece with me. Epitome of a good family recipe! What makes this an “A to Z” Quick Bread is simple switching out 1 ingredient for another (eg. mashed banana for pumpkin).
Epitome of a good family recipe!
Over the years as us grandchildren grew up Grandma would make batches and batches of this bread in all different flavors over the course of the year (I imagine not in one setting!), freezing them, and when a family holiday dinner came around she lays them out on a long table for each family to choose a few loaves as we leave for home.
Grandma Dee always makes loaves from this quick bread recipe, but most of the time I end up making them into muffins, which not only cooks faster, but easier to portion out to my children. I recently started making them in a large sheet pan and cutting them into bars, which the kids have been loving! If I am making a double batch to freeze I can easily cut the loaves or bars and put into gallon freezer bag.
It’s a great recipe that I have tweaked a little over the last 10+ years of baking including lowering the amount of sugar used, switching out vegetable oil for butter (or coconut oil), and replacing some of the egg with a ground flaxseed “egg.” This recipes is truly an A to Z Quick Bread recipe because you simply change out the main ingredient to create a different flavor of bread- the favorites in our house are definitely zucchini, banana, and pumpkin, but you can change it to any fruit! And of course nothing brings back memories like eating it straight from Grandma’s kitchen, even if it is the exact same recipe.! I only wish the recipe in my recipe box was in Grandma Dee’s handwriting instead of my own, although I have the honor of still being able to ask her!
Grandma Dee’s A to Z Quick Bread
A great basic quick bread that can be made into a variety of flavors using fresh, canned, or frozen fruit!
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup oil or butter *
- 3 eggs * (lightly beaten)
- 2 cups A to Z ingredient
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups flour
- 2 teas ground cinnamon *
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- t tsp salt
-
1. In a large mixing bowl add sugar, oil, and eggs and mix well. Stir in A to Z ingredient and vanilla.
2. In another bowl add in the dry ingredients: combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix.
3. Gradually stir dry ingredients into liquid ingredients just until moistened.
4. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes. Insert a knife in the center; if it comes out clean, bread is done. OR pour into muffin tin pans and bake for 25-35 minutes.
A to Z ingredient Options:
apples, peeled and shredded / applesauce / dried apricots, chopped / bananas, mashed / carrots, shredded / coconut / dates, pitted and chopped / figs, dried and chopped / grapes / oranges / peaches / canned pineapple, drained and crushed / prunes / pumpkin / raisins / raspberries, fresh or frozen / rhubarb, fresh or frozen / strawberries / sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed / zucchini, peeled and grated.
* If I am low on butter I tend to use coconut oil as my replacement, but vegetable oil also works.
* For added nutrients I normally use 1 whole egg and make 2 “flax eggs” which would be 2 Tablespoons of ground flax seed and 6 Tablespoons of water
(1T flax + 3T water= 1 egg)
* If I am making pumpkin bread or using squash I will use switch cinnamon out for pumpkin pie spice.
* Feel free to add in 1/2 cup of chopped nut straight into the batter or sprinkle on top before baking!
If you want more to see more homemade recipes try out these: Buttermilk Biscuits (includes tips and tricks!), One Pot Roasted Red Pepper Pasta, and Chicken Apple Pecan Feta Salad with an Easy Vinaigrette.