The Best Easy Blueberry Bread Recipe with Crumbly Streusel Topping
Indulge in the pure delight of homemade blueberry bread, where every single bite is generously studded with an abundance of juicy, burst-in-your-mouth blueberries! This delightful quick bread isn’t just a treat; it’s a testament to simple baking perfection. Thanks to the secret weapon in the batter – rich sour cream – each slice boasts an incredibly moist and tender crumb that practically melts away. But the magic doesn’t stop there; a generous layer of cinnamon streusel, with its irresistible buttery, crumbly texture, adds the ultimate finishing touch, elevating this loaf from delicious to absolutely divine. It’s the perfect companion for your morning coffee, a delightful afternoon snack, or a comforting dessert.
This quick bread recipe truly puts the spotlight on the vibrant, fresh flavor of blueberries. It evokes the comforting familiarity of classic blueberry coffee cake and the beloved simplicity of blueberry muffins, yet it stands out by letting the natural sweetness and tartness of the berries shine. You won’t find any overpowering extracts, heavy spices, or competing citrus zests in the batter here. The goal is pure, unadulterated blueberry bliss, allowing their natural essence to be the star of the show, making each bite a celebration of fruit.
Unlike many quick bread recipes that rely on a glaze, this bread is crowned with a luscious streusel topping before it even enters the oven. The subtle addition of just half a teaspoon of cinnamon in the streusel isn’t meant to make the bread taste overtly spicy. Instead, it imparts a beautiful warmth and a nuanced “something extra” that transforms an already delicious loaf into one that tastes like it came straight from a gourmet bakery. The contrast between the soft, moist bread and the slightly crisp, sweet streusel is simply irresistible. This carefully balanced cinnamon note enhances the overall flavor profile without overshadowing the star ingredient – the blueberries.
While fresh, in-season blueberries offer an unparalleled burst of flavor and texture, this recipe is wonderfully versatile and also works beautifully with frozen blueberries. This means you can enjoy this delightful treat any time of year! Whether you’re using hand-picked summer berries or a bag from your freezer, the results will be equally satisfying. We’ll share important tips for using frozen berries to ensure your bread turns out perfectly moist and delicious every time.
Why You’ll Love This Blueberry Bread Recipe
This blueberry bread isn’t just another quick bread; it’s a carefully crafted recipe designed for maximum flavor and ease. Here’s why it’s bound to become a staple in your baking repertoire:
- Unmatched Moistness: Thanks to the generous inclusion of sour cream, this bread stays incredibly moist and tender for days, never drying out.
- Perfect Blueberry Distribution: We’ll teach you a simple trick to prevent those luscious blueberries from sinking to the bottom, ensuring every slice has an even burst of fruit.
- Irresistible Streusel Topping: The buttery, cinnamon-infused streusel adds a delightful crunch and warm spice that complements the blueberries perfectly, giving it that professional, bakery-quality finish.
- Simple and Straightforward: Despite its impressive taste, this recipe is designed to be approachable for bakers of all skill levels, with clear, easy-to-follow steps.
- Versatile for Any Occasion: Whether it’s for a special brunch, a comforting breakfast, or an afternoon pick-me-up, this blueberry bread is always a welcome treat.
Essential Recipe Ingredients
Crafting the perfect blueberry bread starts with understanding the role each ingredient plays. Here’s a deeper dive into the components that make this recipe shine:
- Blueberries: While I personally adore and recommend using fresh, plump blueberries for their vibrant flavor and firm texture, especially when they’re in season, this recipe is wonderfully adaptable for frozen berries too. If you opt for frozen berries, a crucial tip is to absolutely *not* thaw them before folding them into the batter. This helps prevent them from bleeding too much color into the batter and keeps their shape better during baking. Always toss them with a little flour first!
- All-Purpose Flour: Flour forms the structural backbone of our quick bread. Beyond the main quantity needed for the batter, you’ll also use a small amount to coat your blueberries. This simple trick is essential for preventing the berries from sinking to the bottom of the loaf as it bakes, ensuring an even distribution throughout. It’s also critically important to measure your flour correctly – spooning it into the measuring cup and then leveling it off – to avoid inadvertently adding too much, which can lead to a dense, dry bread. For those new to baking, I highly recommend checking out resources on how to measure flour properly to achieve consistent results.
- Sour Cream: This is the star ingredient for achieving that coveted moist and tender crumb. Sour cream adds richness and moisture without making the bread overly dense. Its acidity also reacts with the baking soda, contributing to a light and fluffy texture. If sour cream isn’t available, full-fat plain Greek yogurt makes an excellent substitute, offering a similar tang and richness. Just ensure it’s at room temperature for best mixing.
- Sugar: We use two types of sugar in this recipe for optimal flavor and texture. Granulated sugar provides the primary sweetness and contributes to the tenderizing of the quick bread batter, giving it a delicate crumb. For the streusel topping, packed light brown sugar is preferred because its molasses content adds a deeper, caramel-like flavor and a slightly chewier, more cohesive texture to the crumbs, enhancing that “bakery-style” appeal.
- Milk: Any type of milk will work, but for the richest flavor and most moist texture, whole milk is highly recommended. The higher fat content in whole milk contributes to a more tender and flavorful bread, ensuring it stays fresh and delicious longer. Ensure your milk is at room temperature to prevent it from seizing the butter mixture.
- Unsalted Butter: Butter is key for both flavor and richness. I always recommend sticking with unsalted butter for baking. This gives you complete control over the exact amount of salt in your recipe, allowing for precise flavor balancing. Different brands of salted butter can vary widely in their salt content, which can throw off the overall taste. My post on salted vs. unsalted butter offers a comprehensive explanation of their differences and how to make substitutions effectively. Make sure your butter for the bread batter is softened to room temperature for proper creaming.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: These are our leavening agents, crucial for giving the bread its lift and airy texture. Baking powder is a double-acting leavener, while baking soda reacts with the acidic sour cream to create carbon dioxide, resulting in a beautifully risen and tender loaf.
- Eggs: Large eggs act as a binder, helping to emulsify the batter and provide structure. They also add richness and contribute to the bread’s golden color. Ensure eggs are at room temperature to incorporate smoothly into the batter.
- Pure Vanilla Extract: A splash of high-quality vanilla extract enhances all the other flavors in the bread, adding a sweet, aromatic depth that makes it truly irresistible.
- Salt: A tiny pinch of salt in both the bread and the streusel is vital for balancing and enhancing all the flavors, preventing the bread from tasting flat.
- Ground Cinnamon: Used specifically in the streusel topping, cinnamon provides a warm, inviting aroma and a subtle depth of flavor that complements the blueberries beautifully without being overpowering.
How To Make Moist Blueberry Bread with Streusel
Creating this delicious blueberry bread is a straightforward process, but following these steps carefully will ensure a perfect, bakery-worthy loaf every time.
- Prepare Your Pan and Preheat Oven: Begin by preheating your oven to 350°F (177°C). Take a 9×5-inch loaf pan, spray it lightly with nonstick cooking spray, and then line it with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the longer sides. This parchment “sling” will make it incredibly easy to lift the baked bread out of the pan.
- Combine the Dry Ingredients: In a spacious mixing bowl, thoroughly whisk together the all-purpose flour (ensuring it’s spooned and leveled for accuracy), baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisking ensures these leavening agents and flavor enhancers are evenly distributed throughout the flour mixture, leading to a consistent rise. Set this bowl aside for now.
- Combine the Wet Ingredients: In a separate large mixing bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the softened unsalted butter and granulated sugar. Beat them together on medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes until the mixture becomes notably light, fluffy, and pale in color. This creaming process incorporates air, which is vital for a tender texture. Then, add the large eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition until fully incorporated. Follow this by mixing in the room temperature sour cream (or Greek yogurt) and pure vanilla extract until everything is just combined. Remember to stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula periodically to ensure all ingredients are evenly mixed.
- Prepare the Batter (Alternating Additions): To the wet ingredients, add half of the dry flour mixture. Mix on low speed until just combined, being careful not to overmix. Then, pour in the room temperature whole milk and mix briefly. Finally, add the remaining half of the dry ingredients and mix only until the flour streaks have disappeared. Overmixing at this stage can develop too much gluten, resulting in a tough, chewy bread instead of a tender one. The goal is to just bring the ingredients together.
- Add the Blueberries: In a separate small bowl, gently toss the fresh or frozen blueberries with one tablespoon of all-purpose flour. This thin coating of flour creates a barrier that helps the blueberries suspend in the batter, preventing them from sinking to the bottom during baking. Add the floured blueberries to the prepared batter (leaving any excess flour behind in the bowl) and gently fold them in using a rubber spatula. Distribute them as evenly as possible with just a few gentle stirs. Transfer the finished batter into your parchment paper-lined 9×5-inch loaf pan, spreading it out into an even layer with your spatula.
- Make the Streusel Topping: In a small mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, packed light brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and a tiny pinch of salt. Stir these dry ingredients together thoroughly. Next, add the cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes. Using a pastry cutter, two forks, or even your fingertips, work the cold butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces remaining. Avoid overworking it; the goal is a crumbly, not smooth, mixture.
- Assemble and Bake: Evenly sprinkle the prepared streusel topping over the top of the blueberry bread batter in the loaf pan. Place the loaf pan into the preheated oven and bake for approximately 60 to 70 minutes. The bread is done when a wooden skewer or toothpick inserted into the very center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached, but no wet batter. If the top of the bread begins to brown too quickly during the last 15-20 minutes of baking, loosely tent it with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning while the interior finishes cooking.
- Cooling: Once baked, remove the loaf from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan for about 20 minutes. This resting period helps the bread set and prevents it from crumbling. After 20 minutes, carefully use the parchment paper overhang to lift the bread out of the pan and transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing and serving. Cooling completely ensures the crumb is perfectly set and the flavors fully develop.
Frequently Asked Questions About Blueberry Bread
Absolutely! Lemon and blueberry are a match made in heaven. You have a few options to infuse a lovely citrus note: you could add one to two tablespoons of fresh lemon zest to the wet ingredients when mixing the batter for a subtle brightness. Alternatively, if you prefer a strong lemon punch and don’t want the streusel, you could skip the streusel topping entirely and instead drizzle a simple lemon glaze over the cooled bread. A lemon glaze is typically made by whisking powdered sugar with fresh lemon juice.
If you’re truly a lemon enthusiast and want to make this recipe ultra lemony, with a more pronounced citrus profile baked right into the bread, I highly recommend checking out my dedicated recipe for lemon blueberry bread, which is specifically designed to maximize that zesty flavor.
Yes, definitely! This recipe is incredibly forgiving and works wonderfully with frozen blueberries, allowing you to enjoy this delightful bread all year round. The most important tip when using frozen berries is to not thaw them first. Take them straight from the freezer, toss them quickly with a tablespoon of flour (this helps prevent them from sinking and minimizes color bleeding), and then gently fold them into the batter. Because frozen blueberries contain more moisture and are colder, they can sometimes lower the overall temperature of the batter, which may require you to add a few extra minutes to the bake time. Keep an eye on the bread and rely on the toothpick test for doneness. Expect a slightly longer baking duration, possibly an additional 5-10 minutes.
While you are certainly welcome to omit the streusel topping if you prefer a simpler loaf or are short on time, I truly and enthusiastically suggest including it! The streusel is a game-changer for this blueberry bread; it adds so much wonderful texture, a delightful buttery crunch, and a warm, subtle cinnamon flavor that beautifully complements the blueberries. It transforms the bread into something truly special and bakery-like. If you choose to skip it, you might consider dusting the cooled loaf with a light sprinkle of powdered sugar for a touch of sweetness and visual appeal, or a simple sugar glaze if you want to add an extra layer of moisture and sweetness.
Yes, absolutely! This homemade blueberry bread freezes exceptionally well, making it perfect for meal prepping or enjoying a slice whenever a craving strikes. To freeze, ensure the entire loaf (or individual slices) has cooled completely to room temperature. Once cool, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, then an additional layer of aluminum foil, or place it in a heavy-duty freezer bag. It will keep beautifully in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to enjoy, thaw the loaf overnight in the refrigerator, or individual slices at room temperature for a few hours. For a fresh-baked taste, you can gently warm slices in a toaster oven before serving.
Expert Baking Tips for Success
- Room Temperature Ingredients: Ensure your butter, eggs, sour cream, and milk are all at room temperature before you begin. This allows them to emulsify properly, creating a smooth, cohesive batter that bakes evenly and yields a tender crumb. Cold ingredients can cause the batter to curdle and affect the final texture.
- Don’t Overmix the Batter: After adding the dry ingredients to the wet, mix only until just combined and no streaks of flour remain. Overmixing develops the gluten in the flour too much, leading to a tough and dense bread rather than a light and tender one. A gentle hand is key here.
- Prevent Blueberries from Sinking: The crucial step of tossing your blueberries (fresh or frozen) with a tablespoon of flour before folding them into the batter helps to create a thin coating. This coating allows the berries to suspend more evenly throughout the loaf instead of sinking to the bottom, ensuring every slice is packed with fruit.
- Prepare Streusel Ahead: To simplify your baking process, you can easily prepare the streusel topping ahead of time. Once made, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 to 3 days, or even freeze it for longer. This is a great time-saver for busy mornings.
- Prevent Excessive Browning: If you notice the top of your blueberry bread is browning too quickly before the center is fully cooked, don’t worry! Simply tent the loaf loosely with aluminum foil for the last 15 to 20 minutes of baking. This shields the top from direct heat, allowing the inside to finish baking without burning the crust.
- Parchment Paper is Your Friend: While technically optional, lining your loaf pan with parchment paper (creating a sling) is highly recommended. It makes removing the baked bread from the pan incredibly easy and mess-free, preventing any sticking and ensuring your beautiful loaf remains intact.
- Check for Doneness: The best way to tell if your quick bread is fully baked is by inserting a long wooden skewer or toothpick into the very center of the loaf. If it comes out clean or with only a few moist crumbs attached, it’s ready. If it comes out with wet batter, continue baking in 5-minute increments until done.
- Cooling is Crucial: Allow the bread to cool in the loaf pan for about 15-20 minutes before carefully lifting it out onto a wire rack. This initial cooling helps the bread set its structure. Then, let it cool completely on the wire rack before slicing. Slicing warm quick bread can lead to a gummy texture.
Blueberry Bread
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Ingredients
Blueberry Bread
- 2 cups all-purpose flour spooned & leveled (250 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened (115 grams; 1 stick)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar (150 grams)
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt at room temperature (175 grams)
- ¼ cup whole milk at room temperature (60 ml)
- 1 ½ cups fresh blueberries (225 grams) plus 1 tablespoon flour (8 grams)
Streusel Topping
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour spooned & leveled (48 grams)
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar (50 grams)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- tiny pinch of salt
- 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cubed into pieces (45 grams)
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray, line the pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the longer sides, and set aside.
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To make the blueberry bread batter: In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
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In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a separate large mixing bowl using a hand-held mixer, cream together the softened unsalted butter and granulated sugar for 3 to 4 minutes or until light and fluffy and pale in color.
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Add the large eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition until fully incorporated. Then, mix in the room temperature sour cream and pure vanilla extract until just combined, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to ensure everything is evenly mixed.
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Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined. Then, mix in the room temperature whole milk. Add the remaining half of the dry ingredients and mix only until the flour streaks have disappeared. Be careful not to over mix the batter to ensure a tender crumb.
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In a separate small bowl, toss the fresh or frozen blueberries with 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour. Add the floured blueberries to the batter (leaving any extra flour behind) and gently fold them in using a rubber spatula until evenly distributed.
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Scoop the batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread it out into one even layer using your spatula.
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To make the streusel topping: Add the all-purpose flour, packed light brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and a tiny pinch of salt to a small mixing bowl and stir until well combined.
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Add the cold cubed butter and cut it into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or two forks until the mixture starts to come together and is crumbly, resembling coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces.
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Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the top of the blueberry bread batter in the loaf pan.
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Bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until a wooden skewer or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached (no wet batter). If the top of the bread begins to brown too quickly, cover loosely or tent with aluminum foil for the last 15 to 20 minutes of baking to prevent excess browning on top of the bread.
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Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 20 minutes in the loaf pan. This resting period helps the bread set. Carefully use the parchment paper overhang to remove the bread from the pan and transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing and serving.
Notes
Freezing Instructions: This delicious blueberry bread freezes exceptionally well for up to 3 months. To freeze, ensure the bread is completely cooled, then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil, or place it in a freezer-safe bag. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator for the best texture, and bring to room temperature or gently warm before serving. Individual slices can also be frozen for quick treats.
There’s nothing quite like the aroma of freshly baked blueberry bread wafting through your home. This recipe promises a wonderfully moist, flavorful loaf bursting with blueberries and topped with a delightful crumbly streusel that will impress everyone. It’s comforting, easy to make, and perfect for sharing (or keeping all to yourself!). So gather your ingredients, follow these simple steps, and get ready to enjoy a slice of pure homemade happiness.