I had a really hard time letting go of summer this year. I’m not sure of it was the sandy baby toes, the summer squash enchiladas, or the tiny swim trunks I kept in my car just in case, but I really didn’t want it to end. One of the best parts of our summer was the overabundance of berries and summer fruit. Endless flats of cheap, local produce – taking over our refrigerator and staining our fingertips pink and blue.
I didn’t just love all those summer berries because they are delicious, but also because they are so easy. Wash grab n go – no steaming, peeling, or chopping required. And then the pears arrived. I had forgotten the perfection that is a juicy, ripe pear. And I discovered that they are as good, if not even better than berries in the hands of a one year old. Nothing gives Cullen more satisfaction than holding a giant pear wedge of his very own and chomping down.
This is my very long way of telling you that I’ve been buying a LOT of pears recently. Too many, actually. I guess I got a little excited. So I decided to use up a few extra ripe pears in a baking experiment that turned out to be a baking success.
I had planned to just make a simple pear bread using an old banana bread recipe, but when I pulled out my baking basket I saw the package of crystallized ginger and felt inspired. And unlike (most of ) my banana bread recipes, this one is vegan! Ginger and pear are such wonderful complimentary flavors, and this bread has just the right mix of light sweetness, punchy ginger, and seasonal spices. I am already planning to make this for my family on Christmas morning!
Ginger Spiced Pear Bread
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45-50 minutes
Ingredients (1 loaf)
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1 cup all purpose four
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1/2 cup whole wheat flour
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1 teaspoon baking powder
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1 teaspoon baking soda
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1/2 teaspoon sea salt
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1/2 cup cane sugar
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1/4 cup (loose) brown sugar
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1 teaspoon cinnamon
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1 teaspoon ground ginger
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2 tablespoons chia seeds + 1/4 cup water (or sub 2 eggs)
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1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
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1/4 cup sunflower oil (or sub canola/other oil)
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1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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2 ripe pears, diced small
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1/3 cup crystallized ginger, minced
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, including the sugars. Set aside. Select two ripe pears – I used Bosc variety – and dice into very small pieces. The smaller the better – if the pieces are too big, the bread won’t hold together well.
You also want to mince the crystallized ginger. Ginger is a really strong flavor, so small pieces go a long way!
In a small dish, mix the chia seeds and water together and let sit for a few minutes.
The chia seeds absorb the water and swell in size, creating a gooey egg-like consistency. If you don’t have chia seeds, you can sub flax seeds or two eggs here. (Insider tip: they sell chia seeds at Trader Joe’s now!)
Once the chia-egg has formed, add applesauce, oil, and vanilla to the small dish, and whisk to combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients, and mix until combined. Using a spatula, fold in the crystallized ginger (reserve about a tablespoon) and fresh pear. Pour batter into a greased loaf pan, and sprinkle the remaining crystallized ginger on top of the batter.
Bake for 45-50 minutes, until golden brown on top and baked through the center. Allow bread to cool on a wire rack before slicing and serving.
The crystallized ginger tastes amazing when baked – it gets sort of chewy and sweet. I had no idea it could get even better.
I love this bread because it is unexpected. Banana bread is delicious, but predictable. This is fun and seasonal, and would make a great gift for coworkers, teachers, babysitters, family, or a gift to yourself at the end of a long week.
We had a gloomy, rainy weekend here in Seattle, which led to a lot of bread eating. If I was a good enough photographer, I would have figured out a way to capture this bread sitting next to a window covered in rain drops. As it is, you’ll just have to believe me that much of this loaf was consumed as a comfort food cliché – listening to rain, next to a fire, with hot coffee in hand. Guilty as charged.
We have family coming into town next weekend, and I think I might need to have one of these ready for our guests’ arrival. Tis the season for delicious baked goods!
Hopefully the first of many more to come.
51 Comments so far
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Delicious! Totally pinning this one! I’m such a big banana bread fan, it’s my default baking go to but this looks awesome and nice and straightforward! :)
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You’re right – it’s hard to give up summer berries, but few things compare with fall’s apples right off the tree, or perfectly ripe pears. I love the idea of a ginger addition!
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Looks yummy! Although I’ve never used fresh ginger (I’m not that adventurous), I think I’ll have to give it a go with this recipe!
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Stephanie @ LoveLaughterLight Reply:
October 30th, 2012 at 2:35 am
I’ve never used crystallized ginger, either! :\
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Pears are fabulous in breads and muffins. They definitely help get over the pain of not having fresh berries! ;)
I love that TJ’s sells Chia seeds now!
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oh I can definitely see this being the perfect thing to nibble during a rainy day indoors!
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Oh my, I’ll be making this tomorrow!
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Emily Malone Reply:
October 30th, 2012 at 12:10 pm
Hope you like it!
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This looks outstanding Emily! I love the thought of baked pears in a bread. For some reason, pears seem so much more appealing to me than apples right now. :)
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Looks awesome! Pears and ginger are such a great combo!
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I’ve seen pear bread before but never really looked at it closely. I’m a big banana bread fan but, I agree, it’s predictable and a year-round thing. Using seasonal fruits really makes it more special – kind of like pumpkin spice bread around Thanksgiving. I will definitely be trying this out.
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This bread looks delicious! Never baked with ginger, but pears are a favorite. Thanks for the recipe!
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mmmmmmmmm, looks super dense and moist! i have recently come to love ginger and i think this could just be the next thing i bake!
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This sounds and looks delicious. Definitely bookmarking for later (I have no pears, but many apples)! It sounds like the perfect gray morning breakfast with a blanket and hot coffee, steam curling off the surface.
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That looks awesome. I need to get some crystalized ginger so I can try this recipe!
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Emily Malone Reply:
October 30th, 2012 at 12:10 pm
Don’t skip the ginger – makes a huge difference! TJ’s sells it too.
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This looks delicious – so dense and moist! I love how unique it is too… I don’t know if I’ve ever even thought or heard of ginger spiced pear bread. Yum!
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Yea! We got the shout out. So excited for our visit. You can make ANY and ALL baked good for our arrivial. ;-) And I love pears.
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Emily Malone Reply:
October 30th, 2012 at 12:09 pm
I will see what I can do. :)
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Just made this and it is delicious. I subbed two apples because I didn’t have pears, and used eggs instead of chia seeds.
Thanks so much for the recipe, it’s amazing!
Perfect snack for riding out this NYC storm.
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Emily Malone Reply:
October 30th, 2012 at 12:09 pm
Love that you made it already, and so happy to hear it was a success. Hope you are staying safe and dry!
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I never knew that chia seeds could be an egg substitute – thank you for teaching me something new today!
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Emily Malone Reply:
October 30th, 2012 at 12:08 pm
Absolutely! You are most welcome.
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Looks delicious! I always forget about pears out of season, too. This will definitely motivate me to buy some!
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Awesome recipe! Sounds so delicious. It might just be my computer, but it looks like you forgot to include the pears in the ingredient list. Is it two pears (in the instructions) or three (in the picture)? Thanks!
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Emily Malone Reply:
October 30th, 2012 at 12:08 pm
They are at the end of the list! Just two pears. I took the pic with three, but after dicing decided two was enough. :) Sorry to be confusing!
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one of my favorite teas is the tazo green ginger and it has a hint of pear in it and its soo good, this is going on my make list.
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Emily Malone Reply:
October 30th, 2012 at 12:07 pm
Sounds delicious!
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I am feeling you on the rainy, gloomy weather here this past week! It sent me straight to the kitchen to cook and bake comfort foods galore. This pear bread looks delicious…love the ginger with it.
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Thank you SO much for a banana-less fruit bread! I’m allergic to bananas, and I’m always so jealous of people eating banana bread. This will be a great alternative!
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Emily Malone Reply:
October 30th, 2012 at 12:07 pm
You are most welcome! Hope you like it!
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Pear bread definitely does sound VERY appealing right now with gloomy weather! I wish I hadn’t eaten one of my pears earlier and saved it for this! haha
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Wow-that is absolutely amazing!!!
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That looks great! I noticed the chia in TJ’s my last trip too! I also noticed they have crystallized ginger and I had this same pear-ginger combo in my head. I am thinking it would be great in scones as well with coarse sugar on top…yum!
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I love banana bread and can’t wait to try this recipe, this may be a silly question but is All purpose flour healthy? is it white flour? I prefer to use whole flours than white, pretty much I would like to know if I can skip the all pupose flour or is it necessary in baking?
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Emily Malone Reply:
October 30th, 2012 at 8:51 pm
I guess “healthy” is sort of a subjective term, but yes, it is white flour. You can sub in whatever type of flour your prefer!
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This bread is perfection. And you’re so right about the way the ginger changes–it really adds a lot to the texture and flavor of the bread. I made mini-loaves of this for a ginger-loving friend who had to have some unexpected surgery today, but I kept one for myself to enjoy.
Thanks for another outstanding recipe!
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Emily Malone Reply:
October 30th, 2012 at 8:50 pm
Hope you and your friend both enjoyed it, and that the patient is recovering well!
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I love pear bread but never thought to add the ginger. This looks like it would have your house smelling incredible!
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I bet this would also be delightful if the pears were pureed. Mmmm, I’m going to have to try that.
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Sarah G Reply:
January 29th, 2013 at 8:48 pm
I’m planning on making this soon…. wondering if you made it with pureed pears?? If so, do tell!
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Wow, this looks so tasty! The husband and I are newbies to Seattle and discovering the joys of baking while it rains – often! – outside. :) Thanks for the recipe. Plan to make it, stat.
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wow, this looks so tasty! there just aren’t many things better than a really good pear.
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YUM! Pear bread is so simply but such a great idea. Can’t wait to give it a try.
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This recipe sounds amazing! I just bought a 3lb. bag of pears so this is perfect.
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My jaw literally dropped when I read the title of this post! I can’t wait to make it for the guests I’ll have in town next week!
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Ohmygosh thank you so much for this! I only used 1/2 cup of coconut palm sugar and subbed the applesauce + oil for 2 mashed bananas and 1/2 cup soya milk and it’s absolutely delicious. Just the perfect amount of ginger, love it.
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Emily Malone Reply:
November 7th, 2012 at 10:05 am
Thanks for letting me know! So glad you liked it!
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I made these as muffins and they turned out well, but with the crystallized ginger were too sweet for me, so I would reduce the sugar next time. I like the wheat flour and pears and also added pecans.
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Last night I baked this as a late night snack while my boyfriend and I watched scary movies. It really hit the spot. Of course I woke up thinking of it! Turned out to be an amazing breakfast, warmed and slathered in butter.
The ginger is very punchy! I was disappointed when I got home from Trader Joe’s and realized I had purchased “UNcrystallized ginger,” but it actually looks just like yours in the picture. It was still sweetened so it worked well. Thanks for the unique and delicious recipe!
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Emily Malone Reply:
December 3rd, 2012 at 2:55 pm
Yum – so glad you liked it!
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