Meatless Monday - Peach bread

It's that time of year again - time for fresh, ripe peaches! I bought some almost over-ripe Utah peaches from my local farmer's market last week, and they were so juicy and delicious I could hardly stand it.

What do I like to do with fresh peaches - other than eat them out of hand? So many choices - peach pie, peach cobbler, peach BBQ sauce, and on and on! One of my favorite things to do with fresh peaches is to make peach bread. My peach bread recipe is kind of like banana bread - only moister and full of peachy goodness. Peach bread never lasts long around here. I like it equally for breakfast and dessert.

If you're fortunate enough to have a bunch of fresh peaches around and are tired of the same old cobbler and pie, give this bread a try!

Not the best picture, but can you see the peach bits in the bread? Yum!

Peach Bread
I'm presenting this bread recipe in its original form, but it could handle some modifications. Use some whole wheat flour to make it a little healthier. You could probably cut back on the sugar as well.

2 cups all purpose flour (or substitute white whole wheat flour for 1 cup of the all purpose flour)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 TBSP flaxseed meal (optional)
2 cups very ripe, mashed peaches (about 5 or so medium peaches)
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 TBSP butter or margarine, melted
1/2 cup raisins or nuts (optional)

In a bowl, mix flour, sugars, salt, and baking soda. Put mashed peaches in a large bowl. Add beaten egg, melted butter. Stir in raisins or nuts. Stir in flour mixture. Pour into a 9x5" greased loaf pan. Let stand 20 minutes. Bake at 350 for 45-55 min. Cool bread in pan 15 min; remove from pan and finish cooling on wire rack.

This recipe might look familiar if you've been reading my blog for a while. I first talked about peach bread last year. It's good enough to post again! If you're looking for more ideas on what to do with peaches, check out the original post for links to an amazing peach BBQ sauce, Alton Brown's peach freezing method (to enjoy that peachy goodness in the winter!), and a fantastic peach crisp that you make in little glass canning jars and freeze for later.