Peach Quick Bread

This cake-like and moist peach quick bread comes together with a simple batter, juicy peaches, and a brown sugar crumb topping. Mix the peaches with cinnamon and sugar before layering and swirling into the batter just like you do when making peach Bundt cake. While there’s a few bowls to dirty, you just need a handful of basic ingredients and there’s no mixer required.

Is it bread? Crumb cake? Dessert cake? This recipe dances a few lines because it tastes satisfying alongside coffee, as an afternoon treat, or warmed up with a scoop of vanilla ice cream to finish off a meal. I always appreciate a versatile baked good and know you do too!

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Peach Bread Details

There are 3 components to this peach bread recipe: Quick Bread Batter, Cinnamon Sugar Peaches, & Crumb Topping.

• Flavor: If you need a recipe where your freshly-picked peaches will shine, bake this bread. Sweet peaches and cinnamon ripple the center, but even the bites without peaches stand out. I wanted the entire slice to be equally delicious and exciting, so I flavored the bread with vanilla and a touch of almond extract and topped it all with brown sugar cinnamon crumb topping. (It gives peach crumble pie vibes!)
• Texture: In terms of texture, this peach quick bread is nestled somewhere between banana bread and white cake. I’d say it’s closer to apple cinnamon bread and zucchini bread. It’s not particularly dense, nor is it too light. You’ll enjoy its wonderfully soft crumb that holds up to the heavy peaches inside. The crumb surrounding the peaches is certainly moist and could become wet overtime, so I recommend storing the bread in the refrigerator after day 1.
• Ease: If you’ve ever made peach pie, you know that peeling and chopping slippery peaches can be tricky. But besides that, this is an easy summer baking recipe that bakers of any skill level can complete. A pastry cutter is helpful for the crumb topping, but you can use a fork or even your hands. Take your time putting the different components together and you’ll be rewarded with a loaf of success.

Recipe Testing This Peach Bread

Before you begin this peach quick bread recipe, let me explain how I put it together. I started testing this recipe with my peach muffins batter as the base, a recipe similar to this blueberry muffin bread. The bread portion was fine, but anywhere there was a peach, it was heavy and wet– not moist– wet. I assure you it was baked through, too. It’s a thinner batter, which did no favors for the heavy peaches.

I switched directions and took a closer look at this peach Bundt cake, which is oil-based and a scaled up version of cinnamon swirl quick bread. The crumb is light, but still strong enough to hold up the fruit. I played around with the leaveners and 1 teaspoon baking powder + 1/2 teaspoon baking soda produced a lovely springy crumb. Sour cream adds moisture without thinning out the batter. The peaches stay elevated and while the crumb around the peach chunks is moist, it’s not wet. (As long as you bake the bread long enough.)

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In Pictures: How to Make Peach Bread

In the printable recipe below, I recommend making the crumb topping first and placing it in the refrigerator until you need it. The colder it is, the more likely it will hold its crumbly texture. If the crumb topping is warm going into the oven, it will melt and virtually disappear into the bread’s top crust. After that, prepare your quick bread batter and peaches, and then assemble the bread before baking.

The most important step of this peach bread recipe is layering and swirling in the peaches. As noted in the printable recipe below, mix the peach chunks with some sugar and cinnamon. Spread half of your quick bread batter into the prepared loaf pan, all of the peaches (with any liquid they produced), and then the remaining batter. Swirl everything together so you have this delicious ribbon of cinnamon, sugar, and peaches throughout. This is exactly how we assemble apple cinnamon bread, too.

Feel free to skip the crumb topping (or leave it!) and top the baked and cooled bread with vanilla icing. We use the same icing for peach bars, too. If you love the idea of fresh peaches, streusel topping, and sweet vanilla icing, you must give peach bars a try next!

Extra fresh summer strawberries on your hands? Strawberry bread is another excellent way to enjoy seasonal fruits in quick bread form.

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Peach Quick Bread Success Tips

1. Best ripeness: The best fresh peaches for peach quick bread are slightly firm (not hard) with zero bruises or soft spots. Your best bet is to purchase or pick about 4 firm peaches, then let them sit in a paper bag for 1-2 days to ripen. Some may have soft spots after this time, so that’s why I suggest having a couple more than you need. Eat the others!
2. Cut peaches into bite-size pieces and do not mix them with flour. There’s only about 2 peaches in this bread but if you chop them up small enough, you’ll enjoy dozens of chunks throughout. I recommend peeling and chopping the peaches into bite-size 3/4 inch pieces. Do not mix the peach chunks with flour in an effort to keep them drier or elevated inside the bread– the bread will be gooey.
3. The bread will fall apart if you slice it warm. Peaches make these bread delicate, so the bread slices will fall apart if you cut it warm. Let the bread cool completely before slicing and serving. If you want to enjoy it warm, heat up the slices in the microwave.

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