It’s a beautiful time of year. A beautiful berry time of year, that is. I love berries. Who doesn’t? (No, actually, I know people who don’t like fruit! What’s up with that???) Blueberries are one of my favorites. Along with strawberries and blackberries. (It’s almost blackberry picking time!) And of course I love to bake with berries–blueberry muffins, blueberry pancakes, blueberry clafouti. (What?! I haven’t posted about clafouti? Must post that recipe soon.)

But! Blueberries are for more than muffins and pancakes and clafouti. Make blueberry bread. Of course, you want to make it with Grandmother Bread!

By the way, in response to requests, I’ve created an entire Grandmother Bread page. You can find all the Grandmother Bread recipes in one place. (I’ve also created a Quick Mix page with all my Quick Mix recipes.)

(Note: If you’re going to make berry bread with whole wheat, be sure to use homemade dough enhancer.)

I’m baking Grandmother Bread with Fresh Berries here using the one-loaf standard Grandmother Bread recipe with the addition of fresh blueberries and extra sugar for more sweetening. You can use any fresh berries (or other cut-up fresh fruit) for the same result.


How to make Grandmother Bread with Fresh Berries:

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 teaspoon yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup fresh berries
3 1/2 cups flour

In a large bowl, combine water, yeast, berries, sugar, and salt. Let sit five minutes.

Stir in flour with a heavy spoon until dough becomes too stiff to continue stirring easily.

Add a little more flour and begin kneading. Using fresh berries is a bit different than using dried fruit, such as raisins. I go ahead and add the fresh berries early in the process, right into the warm water before adding flour. When making muffins or pancakes, for example, you’d add the fresh berries last in order to avoid squishing your berries. But when making bread, you’re dealing with a dough that is going to become quite stiff. You just can’t add the berries at the end and expect them to be thoroughly mixed. You’ve got to go ahead and get them in.

My tips for using fresh berries in making a yeast dough? Knead gently, and as briefly as possible. Trust the dough. Oh, and you’re gonna squish some of the berries. It’s okay.

The amount of flour is approximate–your mileage may vary! Continue adding flour and kneading (gently!) until the dough is smooth and elastic. Let dough rise in a greased, covered bowl until doubled. (Usually, 30-60 minutes.)

Uncover bowl; sprinkle in a little more flour and knead again before shaping dough into a loaf. Place in a greased loaf pan and cover with greased wax paper or a wet paper towel. Let rise until loaf is tall and beautiful and berry-licious! (About an hour, depending on the temperature in your kitchen.)

Bake for 25 minutes in a preheated 350-degree oven.

Fantastic straight out of the oven with a pat (or three) of butter. Or toasted. Or–FRENCH TOAST. You haven’t had French Toast till you’ve had it with berry bread.

Go ahead. Find out. I dare you.

See this recipe at Farm Bell Recipes and save it to your recipe box.


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