Easy Strawberry Shortcake Bread

Made with a few simple ingredients, like flour, baking soda, sugar, and buttermilk, Easy Strawberry Shortcake Bread is a great introduction to bread baking, and the reward is delicious! Served warm with hot coffee or tea, or as the base for French Toast, this bread is just perfect!

I’ve made this bread a few times and it always turns out perfectly. I’m not talking about this Easy Strawberry Shortcake Bread exactly. I’m talking about Irish Soda Bread. St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner and I was thinking about soda bread because we love it and I make a loaf or two every March. But, this time, I was thinking about how to change it up a bit. And, I thought why not leave out the addition of the salt, which is quite common in bread recipes, and add something sweet instead? I added Strawberry Shortcake Crumbs and dried strawberries. Oh, Dear Lord, it is delicious!!!

If you’re new to baking bread, you should certainly start with this one! There are a few reasons why. First, there are very few ingredients. Second, those ingredients are cheap. And, third, you can practice your kneading skills. Easy Strawberry Shortcake Bread consists of only six ingredients. You’ll need flour, sugar, baking soda, buttermilk, Strawberry Shortcake Crumbs, and dried strawberries.

Now, in most homes, flour, sugar, and baking soda will already be present. So it’s likely that you will only need to purchase buttermilk and the strawberry components of this recipe. Strawberry Shortcake Crumbs are very easy to make and I’ll tell you about that in a bit. Dried strawberries can be done at home, or you can buy them almost anywhere. If I don’t make my own at home, I like to get mine at Bulk Barn.

LET’S TALK ABOUT DRIED STRAWBERRIES

Dried or dehydrated – whatever you want to call them – strawberries can be found at almost any baking supply store. Or, you can make your own. Now, I am not completely out of touch with reality, so I know that many of you will not want to spend hours making dried strawberries at home just to make a batch of scones. But, in the case that you do, I can help you with that!

Drying strawberries is super easy to do and can be done without the need for a food dehydrator. You can dry strawberries right in your oven. Sure, it does take some patience, but it’s not like you have to babysit them constantly. Let the oven do all of the work!

Once fully dried and cooled, pack the dried strawberries into a clean jar with a tight seal – much like the one you see in the photos, or simply in a mason jar. It might be a good idea to label the jar with an expiry date which is no longer than six months after you dried them. They probably won’t last that long though. Try them in cookies, scones, cakes, or even as a topping on salads!

BAKING WITH DRIED VS FRESH FRUIT

Dried strawberries are perfect for baking. Baked goods like cookies, cakes, and scones rarely do well with the addition of fresh fruit. Too much water content is released into the batter when the fruit begins to break down from the heat in your oven. In most cases, this “juice” will throw off the balance in the batter and you’ll probably end up with a flat, soggy mess.

To avoid this, use dried fruit or berries. When you work with dried fruit and berries, it’s important to remember that even though in their dried form they can be rather tough and chewy, once baked, they become soft and moist. It’s like magic! If you make use of strawberry season when you can buy a pint for roughly three dollars, you can save your money and dry them yourself rather than buying them from a store. I have purchased dried strawberries from Wegman’s, but there’s lots of added sugar, unlike my homemade Oven Dried Strawberries.

Because of the kneading required in this recipe, I would not recommend using fresh strawberries. You will end up with a big mess. If you cannot find dried strawberries, or if you just don’t want to use them, you can make this bread with just the Strawberry Shortcake Crumbs.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR THIS RECIPE

You might have guessed by now that you need a batch of Strawberry Shortcake Crumbs. Go ahead, and click on the link. It will open and new page so you won’t lose this one. The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

Ingredients For the Crumbs:

• Vanilla Pudding – Just a plain box of powdered mix is all you need. There’s no need to mix it according to the instructions on the package.
• Strawberry Jello – Again, this is just the powder. You will use the powder as it is – no need to mix it and let it set.
• Flour – Regular all-purpose flour is good.
• Butter – I used salted butter to offset some of the sweetness. Unsalted butter is certainly okay too.
• Golden Oreos – These are vanilla-flavoured Oreos. You’ll use one full package of Golden Oreos.

Ingredients for the Bread:

• Flour – No need for anything special. Just use regular all-purpose flour. I have not tried this recipe with any other type of flour.
• Sugar – Sugar will caramelize when baked, which will help to brown cookies and cakes. 
• Baking Soda – Commonly known as sodium bicarbonate, or just bicarb, it is a baking ingredient that’s activated by a liquid and an acid to help with leavening or rising.  In most cases, you will see baking soda in recipes with lemon juice or buttermilk, but that’s not always the case.
• Buttermilk – Store-bought is best for this recipe because it’s already much thicker than homemade, but this recipe will work with homemade buttermilk too. I find that store-bought has a more authentic buttermilk flavour.
• Dried Strawberries – Buy them or make your own like these here that I dry in the oven.
• Strawberry Shortcake Crumbs

HOW TO MAKE EASY STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE BREAD

Start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees F. Generously grease a bread baking pan with unsalted butter or non-stick cooking spray. Use a bread baking pan that has a baking capacity of 5 cups. This recipe does not make 5 cups of bread dough, but you will need the extra room for the bread to rise slightly. Set the prepared bread baking pan aside.

Next, in a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and sugar. Pour in the buttermilk and stir together with a fork until the buttermilk has been absorbed into the flour mixture. Add in the Strawberry Shortcake Crumbs and the dried strawberries. Stir into the dough.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for about a minute. Form the dough into a 6-8 inch log and place it into the prepared bread baking pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes. Serve warm.

CONCLUSION:

Irish Soda Bread is meant to be eaten right away and since this Easy Strawberry Shortcake Bread is based on the soda bread recipe, the same rule applies. Don’t think about making this bread a day or two in advance. It will dry out and become hard. For best results, bake it the same day you plan to eat it. It does make a small loaf, so it should be much of an issue for a family.

And, if there are any leftover slices, use them for breakfast the next day. I love this bread toasted with a good smear of butter. Yum! It’s also really good when soaked in an egg and milk mixture and pan-fried for the most delicious French Toast! Enjoy!