This quick bead was inspired by a 1932 cookbook recipe and uses simple pantry ingredients. It’s rich with peanut butter flavor and can be endlessly varied with a smear of your favorite spread.
I’m slightly late to the game with this recipe, as the original was posted to last year and became internet famous during quarantine. It harks back to a 1930’s Five Roses Flour cookbook published at the height of the Great Depression, and contains recipes for home cooks who may not have a large stock of fresh ingredients.
I did some research before making this recipe because lots of people have made this bread. Almost every account had the same recommendation – more peanut butter. I made the version as written the first time around and agreed with everyone else – more peanut butter!
There are four stages of simple mixing – first the dry ingredients are whisked together. (I’m using pink salt in the first picture if you’re wondering what that is!) Second, the peanut butter and honey are mixed together in a separate bowl. Third, the peanut butter mixture and milk are added to the dry ingredients. The last step is mixing everything together until a thick, sticky batter is formed.
The batter is scraped into a greased 9×5-inch loaf pan and baked for about an hour. Quick breads usually crack in their centers as they bake, so I often help this along by making a line in the center of the batter using the edge of a rubber spatula.
I checked my loaf at 1 hour and it needed a little longer according to the toothpick test, so I tented it with foil so it wouldn’t over-brown.
The end result is lightly sweet, slightly crumbly, and rich! It’s best enjoyed with a tall glass of ice cold milk. I’m already thinking of making another loaf with a cup of chocolate chips added to the batter, for chocolate-peanut butter cup flavor!
My updated version of this recipe doesn’t stray too far from the original, but I’m including the original formula in the footnotes if you’d like to give it a try first. It’s such a simple bake and I’ll be making some in colder months when we crave a stick-to-your-ribs snack. Enjoy!
Yields one 9×5-inch loaf
Canned evaporated milk can be used in place of fresh milk in this recipe (be sure it’s evaporated milk and not sweetened condensed milk!).
2 cups (300g) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine grain salt
1 1/2 cups (387g) creamy peanut butter (tested with shelf-stable JIF)
1/4 cup (84g) wildflower honey
1 1/3 cups milk (tested with 2%)
Preheat oven to 325° F.
Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
In a separate bowl, stir together the peanut butter and honey. Add the peanut butter mixture to the dry ingredients along with the milk. Mix using an electric mixer on low speed until just combined. Scrape down the bowl and fold the batter to make sure no streaks of flour remain.
Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan. (I tested this recipe with flour-based baking spray in a dark nonstick pan.) Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick tester inserted near the center of the loaf comes out clean. When the bread is done, it should be well-browned on the outside (and your whole kitchen will smell wonderful!). If additional bake time is needed, tent the bread with a piece of aluminum foil so it doesn’t over-brown. My loaf baked was done at 1 hour 15 minutes.
Let bread cool 5 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool further. Slice using a serrated knife. Serve slices warm smeared with butter, Nutella, peanut butter, cream cheese – your choice!
Original recipe from Five Roses Cookbook:
Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 4 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 1/3 cups milk, 1/2 c. peanut butter
Method: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix together dry ingredients. Mix in the milk, then the peanut butter. Scrape into greased loaf pan and bake for about 1 hour.
Sources:
– The original cookbook produced by Five Roses, a Canadian flour company.
– a video of the making of the original recipe.
– this thread is filled with information and reviews of this bread.
