I often add fresh blueberries to quick breads and muffins when the berries are in season and have a lot of flavor, but blueberries in the off-season can sometimes be disappointing and not deliver the rich, jammy flavor that you want to get from a perfect blueberry. This Blueberry Swirl Bread is an easy to make quick bread that packs in a lot of blueberry flavor thanks to a flavorful blueberry swirl running through the center of the loaf.
The base for this quick bread is a tender, vanilla-scented batter. The batter is made with the “muffin method,” meaning that it is made with melted butter and requires no creaming. It is a fairly thick batter that also has plain greek-style yogurt in it. The yogurt keeps it moist and tender, and the thick batter is able to support the weight of the blueberry preserve swirl. The vanilla and blueberries go very well together and the bread has a slightly sweeter flavor than similar breads made simply by stirring whole blueberries in – although if you do have very sweet, ripe blueberries on hand, you might want to stir a handful in along with the swirl!
I used Bonne Maman’s Wild Blueberry Preserves, which is packed with whole wild blueberries. Preserves, as opposed to jellies or jams, typically have chunks of fruit in them and you will get the best results in this recipe if you start with good, flavorful preserves. I recommend only swirling the preserves in slightly so that you get a dark, good looking swirl – but be sure to put a little effort into it, because if you don’t, your preserves may sink to the bottom of the loaf.
Blueberry Swirl Bread
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup plain greek-style yogurt
1/2 cup milk (any kind)
1/2 cup good-quality blueberry preserves
Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×5-inch baking pan.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until well combined.
Whisk in 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by the yogurt. Whisk in another 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by the milk. Whisk in remaining flour mixture until no streaks of dry ingredients remain.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Dollop blueberry preserves onto the batter and swirl in gently with a bread knife.
Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the bread springs back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Allow bread to cool for 15-20 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Makes 1 loaf.