Blueberry Bread
from http://www.kingarthurflour.com/

King Arthur Flour has been a longtime friend of the festival and sponsored the Pro-Am Baking Contest for 2010. Grand prize winner Jean Sarnie delighted the judges with this fragrant and flavorful bread featuring local eggs, honey, berries, and our own favorite flavoring, Fiori di Sicilia. Congratulations, Jean, and thanks for sharing your winning recipe. Interestingly, I also found this recipe at https://newengland.com/ where they posted a recipe for Last year’s (2012) Grand Prize winner of the Strolling of the Heifers outdoor fair in Brattleboro, Vermont by Jean Sarnie (same cook as above) of West Halifax, Vermont for her Dante’s Blueberry Quick Bread. I can no longer find this recipe at King Arthur Flour site.

FMM: Brian really liked this bread; he kept saying it is “so good.” He especially liked it toasted. The sour cream gave it a texture reminiscent of pound cake, a little bit spongy, yet it was not dense. The sour cream complimented the blueberries very well and the crust had a bit of a crunch. It was good with a spread of cream cheese, but I thought it was a bit better with just butter, unlike brown bread or banana bread which I like cream cheese on. It uses a mixing technique unusual for making quick breads. It has you cut butter and sugar into the dry ingredients before adding the wet. Brian wanted to try the recipe with raspberries, his favorite berry. It was good, I thought, but not as good as made with blueberries.

FMM Note: This bread took between 1 hour and 20 minutes and 1 hour and 30 minutes to bake for me at 350°. Several reviewers said their bread burned so I used the temperature ususally used for quick breads. The next time I tried setting the oven to 375° (baked in 1 hour and 10 minutes), but the bread did not rise as high. I did add 1 pint of blueberries which may have made the batter heavier - 1 cup would have been sufficient. I’ll continue to use 350°. Be sure to test using a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf until there is no batter or wet crumbs on the toothpick. Also, the bread is quite fragile when hot. Leave in the pan to cool awhile before trying to turn it out. Once cool, it holds together quite well.

2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 1/2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon honey [I’m not sure this added anything]
1 teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia* (optional) [or substitute vanilla and a little orange juice or zest]
1 1/2 cups small wild blueberries or 1 cup large blueberries

*Fiori di Sicilia literally means “Flowers of Sicily.” A combination of citrus and vanilla with a pleasingly floral aroma. Italians use it to scent their panettone and pandoro. The dominant flavors in Fiori di Sicilia are vanilla and orange, so a combination of those two make a fine substitute.

Preheat the oven to 400°F (Reviewers found their bread burned. Most quick breads are baked at 350°F - use 350°F). Spray a 9" x 5" loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside. [I usually use a 8½" x 4½" x 2½" pan.]

Place the flour, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low for 1 minute to aerate and blend dry ingredients [I just use a whisk].

Mix in the butter and sugar until only small lumps remain.

Beat the egg, sour cream, and milk until blended [again I just use a whisk]. Add the honey and Fiori [or vanilla and orange substitute]. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture. Beat on medium speed about 1 minute, until fairly well incorporated [at this point I use a spoon]. A few streaks of flour left is fine.

Fold in the blueberries by hand. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake the loaf for 55 to 65 minutes, until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes [or more!], and turn out onto a rack to cool completely. Store airtight at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.

Yield: 9" x 5" loaf.