This homemade Pear Bread is moist and tender, with diced pears throughout and a sweet cinnamon crumb topping. It’s a delicious way to bake with fresh pears and makes a wonderful breakfast, snack, or fall dessert.
If you’re looking for something different to make with fresh pears, this Pear Bread is a delicious place to start! It’s a moist, tender quick bread filled with pieces of sweet pear and topped with a buttery cinnamon crumb topping.
The pears add little bites of fruit throughout the bread, while the crumb topping adds a sweet cinnamon crunch. It’s a great alternative to banana bread or pumpkin bread and makes a delicious breakfast, afternoon snack, or simple dessert.
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Butter: You can substitute unsalted butter by adding a pinch or two of salt to the crumb topping.
- Oil: I like to use olive oil, but any neutral oil should work.
- Sour cream: I recommend using full-fat sour cream in this recipe. You could also substitute plain Greek yogurt in this recipe.
- Buttermilk: If you can’t find buttermilk, you can make a homemade buttermilk substitute. I recommend using whole milk to make it.
- Pears: Baking pears, like Bosc pears and Anjou pears, work best. Slightly underripe Bartlett pears can also be used. I don’t recommend ripe or overripe Bartlett pears as they will get mushy when baked.
How to make pear bread
Here you’ll find instructions and step-by-step photos showing how to make this recipe. The full recipe, including ingredients, is given below.
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan. Set aside.
Step 2: To make the crumb topping, stir together the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl.
Step 3: Pour in the melted butter and stir until combined and large crumbs form. Set aside.
Step 4: In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Step 5: In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, sour cream, buttermilk, and sugar until well combined.
Step 6: Whisk in the eggs and vanilla until combined.
Step 7: Add the dry ingredients and whisk just until combined.
Step 8: Gently fold in the diced pear.
Step 9: Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread evenly.
Step 10: Crumble the topping evenly over the batter.
Step 11: Bake for about 50–65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. If the crumb topping begins to brown too much, loosely tent the loaf with aluminum foil.
Step 12: Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling.
Recipe Tips!
- Choose the right pears: Pears that are ripe but still slightly firm work well because they’ll hold their shape better during baking.
- Measure the flour properly: Too much flour can make quick bread dry. Use a kitchen scale or spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off.
- Don’t overmix the batter: Mix just until the dry ingredients are incorporated. Overmixing can make the bread tough.
- Don’t overbake: Begin checking the bread near the end of the recommended baking time. The center should be baked through without drying out the loaf.
- Let the bread cool before slicing: Quick breads can be delicate while warm. Allowing the loaf to cool helps it hold together when sliced.
- Variations: You can vary the spices in the topping by substituting the nutmeg with ginger or cardamom. You can also add chopped nuts, like pecans, with the diced pears.
Storage
Store any leftover bread in an airtight container at room temperature. The bread will keep for about 3 days when properly stored.
More fall quick bread recipes!
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Pear Bread Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
Cinnamon Crumb Topping
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar packed
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 6 tablespoons butter melted
Pear Bread
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup oil like canola or olive oil
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup buttermilk
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup peeled diced fresh pear
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
- To make the crumb topping, stir together the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl.1 cup all-purpose flour, ⅓ cup light brown sugar, ⅓ cup granulated sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Pour in the melted butter and stir until combined and large crumbs form. Set aside.6 tablespoons butter
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.2 cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt
- In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, sour cream, buttermilk, and sugar until well combined.⅓ cup oil, ¼ cup sour cream, ¼ cup buttermilk, ¾ cup granulated sugar
- Whisk in the eggs and vanilla until combined.2 large eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Add the dry ingredients and whisk just until combined.
- Gently fold in the diced pear.1 cup peeled
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread evenly.
- Crumble the topping evenly over the batter.
- Bake for 50–65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. If the crumb topping begins to brown too much, loosely tent the loaf with aluminum foil.
- Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Notes
- Butter: You can substitute unsalted butter by adding a pinch or two of salt to the crumb topping.
- Oil: I like to use olive oil, but any neutral oil should work.
- Sour cream: I recommend using full-fat sour cream in this recipe. You could also substitute plain Greek yogurt in this recipe.
- Buttermilk: If you can’t find buttermilk, you can make a homemade buttermilk substitute. I recommend using whole milk to make it.
- Pears: Baking pears, like Bosc pears and Anjou pears, work best. Slightly underripe Bartlett pears can also be used. I don’t recommend ripe or overripe Bartlett pears as they will get mushy when baked.
- Nutrition values are estimates.
Nutrition
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